Former Intelligence Bureau senior officer Yashovardhan Jha has petitioned the Supreme Court of India to permanently ban pellet guns for civilian crowd control [1].
The legal challenge targets the use of these weapons during public demonstrations, arguing that the tools cause unpredictable and severe injuries that exceed the requirements of law enforcement. The petition also seeks compensation for those harmed by the weapons [2].
Jha filed the petition in early June 2024, specifically highlighting the impact of these weapons during protests in Delhi [2]. According to the filing, more than 1,000 people were injured by pellet guns during the Delhi protests [2].
Although categorized as non-lethal, Jha said the weapons are dangerous due to their lack of precision. "Pellet guns are ‘non‑lethal’ only on paper; their trajectory is unpredictable and they can cause permanent damage to vital organs," Jha said [3].
The petition asserts that the deployment of such weaponry violates the right to life, and personal liberty guaranteed by the Indian Constitution [2]. The legal argument centers on the claim that the unpredictable nature of the pellets makes them an instrument of excessive force rather than a controlled means of dispersal [2, 3].
Jha's background as a former senior officer in the Intelligence Bureau provides a security-sector perspective to the challenge against current crowd-control protocols [1]. The request for a permanent ban seeks to remove these weapons from the arsenal used by police for managing civilian unrest across the country [2].
“"Pellet guns are ‘non‑lethal’ only on paper"”
This petition represents a significant legal challenge to the standard operating procedures of Indian security forces. By arguing that 'non-lethal' weapons cause permanent physiological damage, the case pushes the Supreme Court to redefine the threshold of 'excessive force' in the context of constitutional protections for personal liberty and the right to life.
