Self Defence not offence: Madras High Court

Every Person has right to Defend Body

Five years after two criminals- Dindigul Pandi and Velu- were gunned down by the city police in an encounter, the Madras High Court on Tuesday said the police action “done in exercise of the right of private defence” could not be termed as an offence.

“An action done in the exercise of the right to private defence can’t be termed as an offence under Section 96 of IPC. Every person has a right to defend his own body,” ruled the first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M M Sundresh.

On February 8, 2010, Pandi and Velu were killed in an encounter at Neelankarai in Chennai. The two were accused in several cases. A PIL was filed by advocate P.Pugalenthi, director of NGO Prisoners Rights Forum, seeking a direction to TN government to register case of murder against the police personnel involved in the encounter.

Police said when they intercepted a vehicle of Pandi and Velu, the duo attacked police, injuring some policemen. In self defence, police retaliated by opening fire.

Police ought to have filed FIR & Probed:

M.Radhakrishnan, counsel for Pugalenthi, said the self-defence plea was available at the time of trial, and that the jurisdictional police ought to have registered an FIR and investigated. Since the death had occurred at the instance of police personnel, an independent probe ought to have been initiated, he said.

Independent probe by Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO):

The bench, pointing out that the report of the revenue divisional officer was exhaustive, said: “A perusal of the report would show that an exhaustive inquiry was conducted and statements from the deceased family members have been obtained. Publications calling for statements were made in the dailies. The report was accepted by the government.”

Pointing out that the petitioner has not assailed the report, they said, “we don’t have factual any premise leading to a conclusion of an offence having been committed.”