COURT TOLD OVER 8,000 STATE-ISSUED FIREARMS REMAIN UNLICENSED IN CROP-PROTECTION SCHEME

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 those firearms have been formally licensed.

- By LAKMAL SOORIYAGODA

Deputy Solicitor General Dr. Avanti Perera, appearing for the respondent parties, informed the 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 indiscriminately under the guise of crop protection and are allegedly being used to kill elephants, an endangered and strictly protected species recognized as part of the national heritage under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance (FFPO).