When the right of private defence of the body extends to causing death
Section 100 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with when the right of private defence of the body extends to causing death. The right of private defence of the body extends, under the restrictions mentioned in the last preceding section, to the voluntary causing of death or of any other harm to the assailant, if the offence which occasions the exercise of the right be of any of the descriptions hereinafter enumerated, na The Act came into force on 01 Jan 1862. Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.
The right of private defence of the body extends, under the restrictions mentioned in the last preceding section, to the voluntary causing of death or of any other harm to the assailant, if the offence which occasions the exercise of the right be of any of the descriptions hereinafter enumerated, namely:-
First.-Such an assault as may reasonably cause the apprehension that death will otherwise be the consequence of such assault;
Secondly.-Such an assault as may reasonably cause the apprehension that grievous hurt will otherwise be the consequence of such assault;
Thirdly.-An assault with the intention of committing rape;
Fourthly.-An assault with the intention of gratifying unnatural lust;
Fifthly.-An assault with the intention of kidnapping or abducting;
Sixthly.-An assault with the intention of wrongfully confining a person, under circumstances which may reasonably cause him to apprehend that he will be unable to have recourse to the public authorities for his release.
Section 100, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 38 When right of private defence of body extends to causing death Text carried over almost unchanged 88%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Referred to by 6
- Chhattisgarh Vishesh Sashastra Bal Adhiniyam s. 13
- Gujarat State Reserve Police Force Act s. 11
- Karnataka Police Act s. 152 Reserve Police Officer to be deemed to be in charge of Police Station
- M.P. Vishesh Sashastra Bal Adhiniyam s. 13
- Maharashtra State Reserve Police Force Act s. 11 Reserve police officer to be deemed to be in charge of police station, Circumstances under which reserve police officer entitled to use force
- Maharashtra Suraksha Dal Act s. 13 Circumstances under which superior officers and members of Dal entitled to use force
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Darshan Singh v. State of Punjab
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Judgment of Main Case order-5.pdf 2010-01-15 (not same-date order-6 ROP). Bhandari/Ganguly, Crl A 1057/2002. Restores trial-court acquittal on private defence: ss.96–100 IPC. The right commences as soon as a reasonable apprehension of death or grievous hurt arises; the defender is not expected to modulate the defence step by step; burden is preponderance of probabilities, not beyond reasonable doubt. A licensed-gun response to a gandasa attack in a family land dispute was held justified. Map the core body-defence cluster 96/97/99/100 (not every 96–106 number).
On this section: s.100: the right extends to causing death when there is a reasonable apprehension of death or grievous hurt (gandasa attack answered with a licensed gun).
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Gopal vs State of Rajasthan
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The right of private defence is available only so long as there is reasonable apprehension of death or grievous hurt from the person against whom the defence is exercised. Once the threat ceases, such as when the other party flees the scene, the right of private defence also ceases. Chasing and beating a fleeing person constitutes an excess of the right of private defence and renders the accused liable for causing death or injury to that fleeing person. The burden on an accused to establish the plea of self-defence is to show preponderance of probabilities in favour of the plea, not proof beyond reasonable doubt. This burden can be discharged by reference to circumstances from the prosecution evidence itself.
On this section: Defines extent of right of private defence of body; permits causing death if reasonable apprehension of death or grievous hurt
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Hanumantappa Bhimappa Dalavai vs State of Karnataka
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The right of private defence cannot be claimed by a person who deliberately retrieves a weapon from his premises and then assaults the visitors; such conduct bears the stamp of design to kill and falls outside the purview of private defence as defined in Sections 96-106 of the Indian Penal Code. The absence of injury on the accused persons, combined with credible eye-witness testimony of the victims, the deliberate fetching of a weapon, and the coordinated nature of the assault, establishes that the appellants were aggressors, not defenders, and the burden on the accused to establish self-defence by preponderance of probabilities was not discharged. Consequently, the conviction for murder under Section 302 IPC and grievous hurt under Section 326 IPC is upheld.
On this section: Defines the extent of right of private defence of body; extends to causing death if there is reasonable apprehension that death or grievous hurt would be the consequence of the assault.
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State of U. P vs Gajey Singh
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When injuries sustained by the accused persons during an alleged criminal incident are not explained by the prosecution witnesses, and those injuries are serious and substantial rather than superficial or minor, the non-explanation constitutes a significant circumstance that renders the prosecution version doubtful and may justify a finding that the accused legitimately exercised the right of private defence. The accused need only show that their defence plea was probable and that there was reasonable apprehension of death or grievous hurt based on the nature and manner of assault, the weapons involved, and the surrounding circumstances. The burden does not rest on the accused to prove their defence case to the hilt, but rather on the prosecution to prove its case beyond reasonable doubt without suppressing the true genesis and origin of the occurrence.
On this section: Defines when right of private defence extends to voluntary causing of death; establishes that if there is reasonable apprehension of death or grievous hurt, the accused can cause death of assailant; contains six enumerated categories of assault justifying killing
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Ravishwar Manjhi vs State of Jharkhand
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When injuries are found on the person of the accused in a case where a plea of private defense is raised, the prosecution must explain these injuries. If the prosecution fails to adequately explain the injuries on the accused and the circumstances suggest a probable case of self-defense, the accused is entitled to acquittal. The right of private defense need not be specifically pleaded; courts may act upon such conclusion based on materials placed on record by the prosecution itself. In cases involving armed conflict where both parties sustained injuries, the court must examine whether the accused were aggressors or acted in self-defense, considering the genesis of the occurrence and the nature of injuries. Procedural defects in investigation, including failure to produce crucial evidence like station diary and non-examination of Investigating Officer, combined with temporal inconsistencies and delayed witness statements, can vitiate the prosecution case and entitle the accused to acquittal.
On this section: Provides right of private defense of body extends to voluntary causing of death if circumstances give reasonable apprehension of death or grievous hurt
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Ravishwar Manjhi vs State of Jharkhand
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When in a criminal case involving violent confrontation both parties are armed with deadly weapons and sustain injuries, uniform murder convictions under Section 302 IPC cannot be sustained against all accused. If material on record creates reasonable probability that accused exercised right of private defence against apprehended death or grievous hurt, the accused is entitled to acquittal even without express plea, provided the right was not exercised after danger ceased. The prosecution must prove initial aggression and must explain injuries on accused persons when self-defence is a probable scenario. Courts must evaluate all circumstances pragmatically without hyper-technical approach and cannot reject defence merely because accused failed to prove it, but must assess whether it was probable given the materials on record.
On this section: Right of private defence of body extends to causing death if circumstances justify reasonable apprehension of death or grievous hurt
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Raghbir Singh vs State of Haryana
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The right of private defence is a defensive right available only when circumstances clearly justify it and cannot be used as pretext for vindictive or aggressive purposes. While a person facing reasonable apprehension of threat cannot be expected to modulate defence step-by-step with arithmetical exactitude in the heat of moment, and situations must be pragmatically viewed without hyper-technical scrutiny, an accused must establish on preponderance of probabilities that the assault was necessity for warding off attack or forestalling reasonable apprehension. When an accused fails to fully establish self-defence plea but the facts show assault occurred in course of sudden quarrel without premeditation using non-lethal weapons, Exception 4 to Section 300 IPC applies, reducing offense from murder to culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304 IPC), with custodial sentence appropriately reflecting the seriousness of causing death by dangerous act.
On this section: Defines extent of right of private defence of body; extends to causing death if reasonable apprehension exists that death or grievous hurt would be consequence of assault.
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Ram Pyare Mishra vs Prem Shanker
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Even where the right of private defence is exercised, such right is limited and must not be exceeded. If an accused causes death by force grossly disproportionate to the threat faced and beyond what was necessary to ward off an immediate apprehension of death or grievous hurt, the excess becomes unlawful and constitutes culpable homicide, not murder. The burden of establishing the plea of self-defence lies on the accused and must be discharged by preponderance of probabilities. However, the court must pragmatically view actions taken in moments of peril and excitement, considering the subjective apprehension of the accused, not with hyper-technical scrutiny. When credible eyewitness evidence conclusively establishes the assault and death, minor and superficial injuries on the accused cannot form the sole basis for accepting a self-defence plea lacking material support in the evidence.
On this section: Define extent of right of private defence of body. Section 100 provides that right extends to causing death if reasonable apprehension of death or grievous hurt exists. Court examined whether this threshold was met and whether the extent was exceeded.
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Dinesh Singh vs State of U. P
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Where an accused claims the right of private defence, he must establish on the basis of preponderance of probabilities that there existed reasonable apprehension of death or grievous hurt at the time of the alleged defensive action. The right of private defence is a legitimate right available only when circumstances clearly justify it, requiring careful examination of the entire incident in its proper setting. Where no person on the prosecution side is shown to be armed with any weapon, there cannot be any reasonable apprehension of death or grievous hurt, and therefore the right cannot extend to causing death. The burden rests on the accused to establish this right, and absent such establishment, an act causing death constitutes culpable homicide.
On this section: Defines extent of right of private defence of body; right extends to causing death if reasonable apprehension of death or grievous hurt
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Arjun vs State of Maharashtra
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When an act of violence resulting in death is committed in heat of passion upon a sudden quarrel, without premeditation, without any undue advantage taken, and in the course of a mutual fight where both parties sustained injuries, the conviction under Section 302 IPC (murder) should be altered to Section 304 Part 1 IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), even though the accused was armed with a lethal weapon and the victim was unarmed, provided the overall circumstances do not show deliberate calculation or predetermined violence.
On this section: Specific provisions regarding right of private defense in various circumstances, controlled by Section 99
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Sadhu Singh vs State of Punjab
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When an accused claims the right of private defence in a criminal matter, the burden is on the accused to establish, through careful examination of the entire incident in its proper setting, that circumstances gave rise to reasonable grounds for apprehending that death or grievous hurt would be caused to him. The right of private defence commences as soon as reasonable apprehension of danger to the body arises from an attempt or threat to commit an offence and continues so long as the reasonable apprehension of danger persists. Once the cause for reasonable apprehension disappears and the threat has been destroyed or put to rout, there is no further occasion to exercise the right of private defence. If the evidence shows that an accused exceeded the right of private defence, the appropriate conviction would be under Section 304 Part II IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) rather than Section 302 IPC (murder), with the sentence determined to meet the ends of justice.
On this section: When right of private defence of body extends to causing of death - defines limits and extent of right to use fatal force in defence of body
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Santokh Singh vs State of Punjab
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A right of private defence extending to causing death cannot be claimed merely because a quarrel occurred and some injuries were sustained by the accused. To establish such a right, it must be shown that the accused was under grave apprehension about the safety of their life and property, and that retaliation to the extent undertaken was absolutely necessary. However, when a homicide occurs in the course of a sudden fight with mutual provocation and without premeditation or undue advantage, it falls under Exception 4 of Section 300 IPC and constitutes culpable homicide, not murder. The number of injuries sustained by the accused is not a safe or determinative criterion for establishing private defence.
On this section: Definition of right of private defence of body including right to cause death when apprehension of death or grievous hurt is reasonable
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Ranveer Singh vs State of M. P
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The right of private defence under Indian criminal law is a valuable defensive right serving a social purpose, available when there is reasonable apprehension of danger to body arising from attempt or threat to commit an offence. The right extends to causing death if there is reasonable apprehension that death or grievous hurt would result from assault. However, the right is strictly limited: it commences upon reasonable apprehension of imminent danger and continues only so long as that apprehension reasonably exists. Once the threat is eliminated or the cause for apprehension disappears, the right ceases. The burden of establishing private defence rests on the accused by preponderance of probabilities, not beyond reasonable doubt. Where the accused exceeds the bounds of private defence and uses force beyond what was necessary or reasonable under the circumstances, the plea cannot protect him from criminal liability, and the conviction may be properly reduced from murder to culpable homicide or a lesser offence accordingly. The assessment must be pragmatic, considering the subjective circumstances as they appeared to the accused in the moment of excitement and confusion, but not permitting the guise of self-preservation to become a pretext for assault or vindictive action.
On this section: Defines extent of right of private defence of body. If person has right of private defence under Section 97, that right extends to causing death if there is reasonable apprehension that death or grievous hurt would be consequence of assault.
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Mohan Lal vs State
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a person is faced with criminal trespass on his property and reacts to protect his property and person, he has the right of private defence available to him. However, this right is circumscribed by law and cannot extend to causing death or grievous hurt unless there is reasonable apprehension that death or grievous hurt would otherwise be the consequence. If the person uses excessive force and causes death when the aggressor is not armed with a deadly weapon and there is no reasonable apprehension of death or grievous hurt, the act falls under Exception II of Section 300 IPC and is punishable under Section 304 Part-II IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and not under Section 302 IPC (murder). The burden is on the accused to show that he had a right of private defence which extended to causing of death, and the court must examine all surrounding circumstances and view the entire incident in its proper setting to determine whether the right of private defence was exceeded.
On this section: Defines the right of private defence of the body. The court used this section to determine the limits of private defence available to the appellants.
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Shivanna vs State of Karnataka
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The right of private defence is a defensive right that cannot be invoked by the aggressor or after the reasonable apprehension of danger has ceased. The burden of establishing this right is on the accused, who must show preponderance of probabilities. The mere fact that injuries were sustained by the accused does not establish self-defence if the evidence clearly shows they were the aggressors. The number of injuries and non-explanation thereof by the prosecution are relevant but not conclusive factors. When prosecutorial evidence is clear, cogent, independent and credible, it can outweigh the unexplained injuries. The right must be examined pragmatically in its proper setting, considering the imminence of threat, the injuries sustained, and whether the accused had time to resort to public authorities, but it cannot be used as a pretext for vindictive or retributive assault.
On this section: Defines extent of right of private defence of body, allowing causing of death if reasonable apprehension of death or grievous hurt exists; applied to determine if death was justified
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Shriram vs State of M. P
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The non-explanation of injuries sustained by accused persons does not automatically warrant rejection of the prosecution case. Such non-explanation assumes significance only when the defence version competes in probability with the prosecution version or when the evidence consists of interested witnesses. However, where the prosecution evidence is clear, cogent, credible, independent, disinterested, probable and consistent, and where the injuries on the accused are minor and superficial, the mere failure of the prosecution to explain such injuries cannot be the sole basis for rejection of the case. The test of credibility of eyewitnesses who are related to the deceased is not whether they are interested, but whether upon careful and deeper scrutiny of their evidence, it is found to be acceptable and trustworthy.
On this section: Defines the limit and extent of right of private defence extending to voluntary causing of death; requires reasonable grounds for apprehending death or grievous hurt
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… there was no basis to hold that accused-appellants were aggressor and secondly - this finding does not hold good in view of the fact that it were members of the complainant-party, who wanted to forcibly trespass the land of the accused-party. 9) Shri S.R. Bajwa, learned senior counsel at this juncture referred to Section 100 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and argued that case of the appellants falls within the purview of second category of cases of Section 100 IPC, which inter-alia provides that "the right of private defence of the body extends, under the restrictions mentioned in the last preceding section, to the voluntary causing of …
Questions about Section 100
What have the courts held on Section 100 of the Indian Penal Code?
Darshan Singh v. State of Punjab (15 Jan 2010) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: s.100: the right extends to causing death when there is a reasonable apprehension of death or grievous hurt (gandasa attack answered with a licensed gun). Another 15 judgments on this section are set out below, 15 of them from the Supreme Court. They run from 2003 to 2013.
How do I find court cases under Section 100 of the Indian Penal Code?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: IPC 100, section 100 IPC, section 100 of the Indian Penal Code. People searching for it also type ipc 100 in bns. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 16 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Darshan Singh v. State of Punjab (15 Jan 2010).
What should I read with Section 100 of the Indian Penal Code, and has it changed?
6 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNS 38 (When right of private defence of body extends to causing death), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 100 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 100 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 100, came into force on 01 Jan 1862, having been enacted on 06 Oct 1860. It is no longer in force.
Other sections of this Act
- 499. Defamation1512 words
- 464. Making a false document1223 words
- 300. Murder1172 words
- 378. Theft980 words
- 108. Abettor745 words
- 403. Dishonest misappropriation of property727 words
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