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In the petition filed under Section 482 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the woman alleged that she was forced to kill her husband to save her daughter. (Getty files for representation)
The court held that this was a suitable case to intervene because the record showed that the deceased's body was found half-naked with head injuries, which was consistent with the explanation given by the defendant's wife.
The Madras High Court (HC) recently observed that if someone kills someone to protect themselves or others from sexual offences, they will be exempted from punishment under Section 97 of the IPC.
A bench of Justice G Jayachandran allowed a mother's petition seeking quashing of the murder case registered against her for killing her husband when he tried to attack their 21-year-old daughter in an inebriated state.
In the petition filed under Section 482 of the CrPC, the woman alleged that she was forced to kill her husband to save her daughter.
The woman's lawyer argued that her daughter's statement and a photo of the deceased showing injuries to the back of his head showed it was a clear act of self-defence. Therefore, the lawyer claimed that it would be incorrect to prosecute the woman under Section 302.
The court also heard investigations revealed the woman heard a noise and found her drunken husband lying on top of their daughter and strangling her. When she tried to pull him away from her daughter, he refused to move, so she struck him on the back of the head with a wooden knife, but he continued to beat her. As a result, she took a hammer and hit him on the head, causing him to die on the spot.
The single judge noted that it was evident from the records that the deceased was in a drunken state and tried to misbehave with his daughter.
The court emphasized that Section 97 of the IPC conferred the right of self-defense against offenses affecting the body, including sexual offenses covered by Sections 354, 375, 354-A and 354-B. This means that a person defending himself or others is exempt from punishment under section 97 even if the offense has been admitted.
Therefore, the court found that this was a suitable case to intervene because there were records showing that the deceased's body was half-naked and had head injuries, which was consistent with the explanation given by the defendant's wife.
Therefore, the court granted the woman’s petition and dropped the murder charges against her.
