Section 130 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023
📘 Section 130 – Right of Private Defense Against Certain Acts
🔹 Overview:
Section 130 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 elaborates on the right of private defense in specific circumstances. It details when a person can use force to defend themselves or others, particularly when faced with certain grievous offences or threats.
🔍 Detailed Explanation:
✅ Key Points of Section 130:
The right of private defense extends to acts that cause death, grievous hurt, or grievous harm.
It allows a person to use reasonable force, including lethal force, in cases where the threat involves serious injury or danger to life.
This section specifically permits the use of force even if it might cause death, provided the circumstances justify such action.
🔹 Scope of Private Defense under Section 130:
The person exercising this right must believe there is an imminent threat of death or grievous harm.
The force used must be necessary and proportional to the threat.
The right covers defense of:
One's own body,
The body of another person,
Property in certain cases.
🔸 Conditions:
Imminent Threat:
The danger faced must be immediate or impending.
Proportionality:
The force used should be no more than necessary to repel the threat.
No Excessive Harm:
Once the danger is averted, the right to use force ends.
Not Aggressor:
The person claiming this right should not be the initial aggressor or provocateur.
🧠 Example:
If someone attacks you with a deadly weapon intending to kill or cause serious injury, you are entitled to defend yourself, even if your defensive action results in the death of the attacker, as long as it was necessary to prevent the harm.
📌 Significance:
Section 130 strengthens the right to self-defense, recognizing that in extreme situations, force causing death may be justifiable.
It balances individual rights with public interest by requiring proportionality and necessity.
This provision provides legal protection to those who act in genuine self-defense against serious threats.
🔚 Summary:
Section 130 of the BNS, 2023 allows the use of reasonable and necessary force, including force causing death, in private defense against serious threats to life or bodily integrity.
It sets clear conditions to prevent misuse of this right.
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