Indore: After 8-Year Legal Battle, 57-Year-Old Educationist Wins Right To Carry Sharp Weapon

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): After an eight-year legal battle, a 57-year-old educationist from the city secured a first-of-its-kind licence to legally possess sharp-edged weapons.

Subhash Singh Tomar, a facilitator in technical education, was granted the licence by the Indore district administration, allowing him to keep a sharp-edged weapon within city limits until April 8, 2028.

This was not about personal protection, Tomar insisted, but about justice.

His battle began in 2017, not with anger but with curiosity. After studying the Arms Act, 1959, Tomar filed a string of RTI applications, uncovering how tribal communities across western Madhya Pradesh were being criminalised for owning sharp-edged tools they used for farming, cutting grass and daily work.

“These are not weapons of crime,” said Tomar. “They are tools of life. Yet, tribals are booked under the Arms Act for simply owning them. I had to prove a point.”

So he decided to get a license to set an example for the tribal community.

At first, his application was dismissed without any reason. Officials reportedly mocked his persistence, questioning whether such a license could even exist. But Tomar pressed on, ultimately reaching the Madhya Pradesh high court, where a decisive order from the Indore Bench on February 27, 2025 turned the tide.

Backed by a previous order from the Commissioner (Revenue), Indore division, dated September 12, 2024, the court directed the district to issue the licence within three weeks. It took a contempt petition before the administration complied.

“This is a historic legal milestone,” declared his lawyer, Vishal Srivastava, who criticised the lack of transparency and public awareness around licenses for traditional weapons.

“The government needs to set a clear policy. People do not even know this is possible,” he said.

Additional district magistrate Roshan Rai confirmed the licence had been issued, though he remained uncertain whether it was the first such case nationally. “In Indore, there have been two or three similar cases, but specifics are not clear,” he said.

For Tomar, it is not about the weapon, but about empowerment and awareness. “I want to show the tribals and the nation: the law is not your enemy, if you know how to use it.”