The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed the Center to clarify the status of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) after its counsel informed that the federation’s license has been cancelled.
Hearing a number of petitions filed by shooters, including Ibrahim Javed Khan, seeking the release of practice cartridges for the upcoming national and international competitions, Justice Vishal Sharma temporarily asked the authorities to release 1,000 rounds to the shooters.
The court ordered the petitioner’s counsel to compel the Ministry of Home Affairs as a party to the case, also asked the central government to comment on the use of sports category weapons and also the sportsmen’s entitlement to the number of bullets.
In his order on Thursday, the judge said that the court was informed by the counsel for the “Union of India that the license of the Shooting Association of India has been cancelled.
“However, he has no warrant. He is directed to put the same on record.”
The petitions were filed by shooters who claimed they were unable to train for events scheduled for March this year due to a “challenged order” restricting their access to ammunition.
While ordering the immediate release of 1,000 rounds to each petitioner to enable their training and preparation for the upcoming events, the court called for strict monitoring and asked the shooters to report back to the collectors after the quota was exhausted.
Further release of cartridges will be ensured only after the authorities have verified the correct use of ammunition.
National Rifle Association of India general secretary Pawankumar Singh told PTI that a meeting of his legal team had been called, though the federation itself was not aware of any court filing.
He noted that the shooting remains one of the The highest priority of the Ministry of Sports disciplines.
“I believe the information we are getting through social media is in some confusion. We have not received any notification or communication in this regard,” Singh said.
“We have spoken to our legal team to work on it and take appropriate action. There are several cases going on in Madhya Pradesh involving shooters, I believe not this one where their licenses are pending and also made NRAI a party to those cases,” he said.
“In fact, we are also in talks with the government on how to increase the ammunition quota,” he said.
India recently hosted the Asian Championship at the Karni Singh Range here and topped the medals in the prestigious continental event.
Indian batsmen had a breakout season in 2025 with their best ever performance at the World Cup, World Cup Final and Asian Championship in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.
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Issued by:
Amar Panicker
Published on:
February 20, 2026