Self-defence no licence for excessNEW DELHI: Self-defence is no alibi for disproportionate use of force. In a ruling that puts the right to self- defence in perspective, the Supreme Court has said that causing more harm than required to the aggressor can land you in trouble.
The court also ruled that the aggressor party cannot, on the basis of injury received during the clash, claim it inflicted blows on the other party in self-defence.
The ruling was given recently by a Bench comprising Justices S B Sinha and R V Raveendran in two separate judgments in cases where the aggressor had claimed the right to self-defence.
Of the two incidents, one related to a clash between two groups of villagers in Devanandpur in Uttar Pradesh over the location of a community site for burning of Holika on the eve of Holi. The second incident involved forcible cutting of paddy crop and an ensuing clash in village Bhadsa in Purulia, West Bengal.
The court felt that the line between self-defence and disproportionate use of force was thin. "It is true that while exercising this right, a person is not expected to weigh in golden scales on the spur of the moment and in the heat of the circumstances, the number of injuries required to disarm the assailant," it said.
At the same, the court added that "the right to private defence cannot be exceeded so as to cause more harm than necessary".
Writing the judgment for the Bench, Justice Sinha said private defence could be used to ward off unlawful force and to prevent it, to avoid unlawful detention and to escape from such detention. For defending ones land, moderate force could be used, he added.
Defence of ones dwelling house, however, stands on a different footing, the judge said, noting that the right to self-defence could extend to causing death of the aggressor in cases like robbery, house-breaking by night, attempt to set the house afire and theft.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-1288906,curpg-1.cms*FW Note:I guess this could parallel the old western addage that it's not fair to "kick a fella while he's down"...
But seriously, in this country as well, most self-defense cases revolve around questions of justified use and degree of force.
