Life Imprisonment Overturned
The Supreme Court recently granted relief to a doctor who had been sentenced to life imprisonment for shooting his assailant. The apex court set aside his conviction for culpable homicide, holding that he was entitled to exercise his right of private defence when attacked with a pistol.
Background of the Case
The conflict arose from a long-standing enmity over a money transaction. The deceased, armed with a pistol, went to the doctor’s clinic and shot at him. The doctor retaliated by snatching the weapon and shooting the assailant, who later died. Both parties had initially registered FIRs against each other, but the deceased’s FIR was closed following his death, and the doctor was charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Trial and High Court Conviction
The trial court convicted the doctor under Section 304 Part I of the Indian Penal Code and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The High Court upheld this decision.
Apex Court Bench on Private Defence
The Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices M M Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh, noted that the deceased was the aggressor and that the doctor’s response fell under the right of private defence. The court emphasized that:
“The right of private defence cannot be brushed aside and cannot be weighed in a golden scale… it should be seen from the point of view of a common and reasonable person.”
The bench further referred to the precedent in Darshan Singh vs. State of Punjab, stating that self-preservation is a basic human instinct, and when a person is in imminent danger of losing life or limb, they may inflict harm—even causing death—on their assailant in the exercise of self-defence.
Verdict: Conviction Set Aside
Applying these principles, the Supreme Court acquitted the doctor and set aside both the trial court and High Court judgments, accepting his plea of private defence.
