Acting CoP to decide on FUL applications

THE acting Commissioner of Police has been ordered to decide on two firearm user's licence (FUL) applications in separate cases filed by two businessmen.

Justices Marissa Robertson and Devindra Rampersad made the orders on February 24 and last week, respectively. They declared there was an unreasonable delay in deciding both applications in breach of the commissioner’s statutory duty.

Rampersad ordered the acting commissioner to decide by April 30, while Robertson ordered a decision by June 6.

Both businessmen asked for their names not to be published for fear of being targeted by criminal elements.

In the case before Rampersad, the businessman from Bamboo No 2 said he applied for an FUL and received his provisional licence in August 2021. Since then, he said, he has not received an update on his FUL application, nor has there been a response to a pre-action protocol letter in November 2024.

“I am affected by the failure of the intended respondent/ defendant to render a decision on my application…Because of the nature of my business, I am usually in possession of large amounts of cash daily.”

The other businessman, from Pasea, Tunapuna, said he applied in 2021 and received his provisional licence. After fulfilling all the requirements under the Firearms Act, he tried getting an update on his application, making multiple visits to the firearm’s permit unit and sending pre-action protocol letters in May and October 2024.

“Crime continues to surge with ever-increasing menace, yet the commissioner, in her rigid and narrow interpretation of the Firearms Act, refuses to acknowledge the urgent necessity of adequate resources to process applications swiftly and efficiently.

“I assert that the commissioner is deliberately neglecting her statutory obligation to grant firearms licences to law-abiding citizens, thereby condemning them to stand defenceless in the face of rising criminal threats.

“This deliberate inaction strips citizens of their fundamental right to protect themselves, allowing the forces of lawlessness to flourish unchecked, eroding the very fabric of security and safety that our society is built upon.”

When the matter came up before Robertson, the commissioner’s attorneys asked for six months to decide. They also said they would not be filing a defence or affidavit.

The Pasea businessman’s attorney, Keron Ramkhalwhan, objected, pointing out his client had been waiting since 2021. He said a six-month delay would only condone the unreasonable delay.

In both cases, the State was ordered to pay costs.

Attorneys Varun Debideen and Kent Samlal represented the Bamboo No 2 businessman. Shalini Sankar and Anwar Hosein appeared with Ramkhalwhan for the other businessman.