NEW DELHI: In an important ruling, the Supreme Court on Friday said that the use of force is justified if children see their parents being assaulted by someone else and it would be treated as self defence.
The court passed the ruling while acquitting two brothers accused of hitting their neighbours who had beaten up their parents, causing the death of their father later.
“The appellants can legitimately claim right to use force once they saw their parents being assaulted and when actually it has been shown that due to such assault and injury, their father subsequently died,” a Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Shiva Kirti Singh said.
The court also set aside the conviction and two-year sentence of the brothers, residents of Rajasthan who were held guilty of attempt to commit culpable homicide.
The two men were convicted by the trial court for the offence of attempt to murder, but the Rajasthan High Court had held them guilty of attempt to commit culpable homicide.
Challenging their conviction, the two men had claimed that the prosecution’s case was false and brought witnesses in their defence to show that members of the prosecution party had beaten their father, leading to his death. Their mother and others had also received injuries in the incident which was proved by a doctor.
The apex court said the High Court drew correct inferences from a Supreme Court judgment, but proceeded to convict the appellants on the “misconceived ground” that both parties had withheld the origin and genesis of the occurrence.