Karnataka HC: Pepper Spray a Dangerous Weapon

While adjudicating over a matter, the Karnataka High Court has held that “pepper spray’ is a dangerous weapon and shouldn’t be used when there isn’t an imminent danger to life.

The Facts of the Case

In the case titled C Ganesh Narayan & ANR AND State of Karnataka & ANR, the petitioners were charged with the accusations of attacking Randeep Das, a security guard who is employed by CKC & Sons showroom, as well as some laborers who were working at their compound wall on April 29, 2023.
Both parties engaged in verbal abuse and physical violence, culminating in Vidya, the accused, resorting to the use of her pepper spray.

Then later, Randeep Das filed a complaint against the petitioners, and hence a case was registered against them. To which the petitioners contended that they were forced to use the pepper spray as it was done as an act of self-defense and that their right to practice self-defense was protected by law, specifically in Section 100 of the Indian Penal Code. Section 100 of the Indian Penal Code gives the right to exercise self-defense, given that the circumstances demand so.

After observing the material facts presented before the court, the court was of the opinion that both parties had filed identical complaints against one another.

The Court’s Verdict

Rejecting the petitioners’ right to private defense, Justice Nagaprasanna, citing a Supreme Court precedent, ruled Vidya could not have used pepper spray because, “as prima facie, there was no imminent threat or danger to her life.

The court, in its ruling the court relied upon Section 324 of the Indian Penal Code, which says that causing harm through various means—such as shooting, stabbing, or employing any weapon—with the potential to result in death constitutes an offense. Consequently, pepper spray falls within this purview as a dangerous weapon.

While there hasn’t been a specific legal determination regarding the classification of pepper spray as a dangerous weapon in India, a notable precedent can be found in a U.S. court case, People v. Sandez (2018). In this case, the judge definitively declared that noxious chemical sprays, including pepper spray, are indeed dangerous weapons.

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