Sri Lanka, Dec. 10 -- The writ petition challenging the Defence Ministry's decision to issue 13,207 firearms to farmers in December 2024 for crop protection was taken up before the Court of Appeal, where it was revealed that only 5,000 of these firearms have been formally licensed.

Deputy Solicitor General Dr. Avanti Perera, appearing for the respondent parties, informed court that out of the 13,207 weapons distributed under the programme, licences had been issued for merely 5,000.

The petition, filed by the Wildlife and Nature Protection Society of Sri Lanka, was taken up before the two-judge bench comprising Justice Rohantha Abeysuriya and Justice K. Priyantha Fernando.

The petitioners contend that the firearms were issued indiscrimi...