Lucknow, April 24 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has held that a firearm licence cannot be cancelled solely on the basis of an FIR if there is no mention of misuse or discharge of the weapon. Justice Irshad Ali passed the order on a petition filed by Aman Ullah of Sitapur, who had challenged the district magistrate's decision cancelling his arms licence. The petitioner was issued a show-cause notice alleging use of his firearm in a crime. He denied the charge, stating he had not used the weapon and was falsely implicated. Despite his reply, the licence was cancelled without examining the merits, following which he approached the court. Citing various rulings, the petitioner's counsel argued that mere pendency of a criminal case is not sufficient ground for cancellation unless it is shown to affect public peace and tranquillity. The court found no material to support the allegation that the petitioner was likely to misuse the firearm, terming the cancellation arbitrary. It also noted that he had been acquitted in two criminal cases. Holding the action illegal and lacking cogent reasons, the court set aside the cancellation order and allowed the petition....