Question:
Principle: Everyone has the right of private defence to defend his body and property by use of reasonable force unless that person had time to have recourse to protection of public authorities.
Facts: X receives information at 5:00 pm that Y along with a few friends is planning to burn his crop at midnight which is ready to be harvested. He does not inform the village Police Station which was just one kilometer away. He gathers his family members and directs them to collect some weapons in the form of swords and lathis to protect his field/crop. At around 11:00 pm Y and his aides attack the crop and a severe fight ensues wherein Y is seriously injured.
Principle: Everyone has the right of private defence to defend his body and property by use of reasonable force unless that person had time to have recourse to protection of public authorities.
Facts: X receives information at 5:00 pm that Y along with a few friends is planning to burn his crop at midnight which is ready to be harvested. He does not inform the village Police Station which was just one kilometer away. He gathers his family members and directs them to collect some weapons in the form of swords and lathis to protect his field/crop. At around 11:00 pm Y and his aides attack the crop and a severe fight ensues wherein Y is seriously injured.
Facts: X receives information at 5:00 pm that Y along with a few friends is planning to burn his crop at midnight which is ready to be harvested. He does not inform the village Police Station which was just one kilometer away. He gathers his family members and directs them to collect some weapons in the form of swords and lathis to protect his field/crop. At around 11:00 pm Y and his aides attack the crop and a severe fight ensues wherein Y is seriously injured.
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Always consider whether public authorities could have been informed before resorting to private defence.
Updated On: Jul 15, 2026
- X is not liable as he was exercising his right of private defence.
- X and his family are not liable for the injuries caused as they were exercising the right of private defence.
- X is liable.
- X and his family are liable as they have not informed the police.
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The Correct Option is D
Approach Solution - 1
In this case, X is exercising the right of private defence as he is protecting his property and family from Y’s attack. However, the principle of private defence also mandates that if a person has time to approach public authorities (such as the police), they should do so before taking action. In this case, X did not inform the police, even though the police station was only one kilometer away. This failure to inform the authorities implies that the response was not entirely justified under the principle of private defence, and X and his family will be held liable.
Thus, the correct answer is (D).
Option (A) is incorrect because private defence should ideally be used after failing to get recourse from authorities. Option (B) is incorrect for the same reason. Option (C) is incorrect because X’s action was not entirely in line with the lawful use of private defence.
Thus, the correct answer is (D).
Option (A) is incorrect because private defence should ideally be used after failing to get recourse from authorities. Option (B) is incorrect for the same reason. Option (C) is incorrect because X’s action was not entirely in line with the lawful use of private defence.
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Approach Solution -2
The question turns on whether X had enough time and opportunity to call the police before resorting to force. Let's look at each option.
- X is not liable, as he was exercising his right of private defence: The right of private defence is not available once a person had time to seek help from the police instead. X learned of the plan at 5 pm and had a police station just a kilometre away, giving him a real chance to report it before midnight, so this option overlooks that missed opportunity.
- X and his family are not liable, as they were exercising the right of private defence: The same problem applies here. Since X had hours of advance warning and an easy route to the police, the right of private defence does not kick in just because a fight actually happened later.
- X is liable: This gets close but stops short by naming only X, when the facts describe X directing his family members to gather weapons and join the confrontation as well. The liability question extends to the family too, not X alone.
- X and his family are liable, as they did not inform the police: X had about six hours' notice and a nearby police station, yet chose to arm his family with swords and lathis instead of reporting the threat. Because that recourse to public authorities was available and ignored, the protection of private defence does not apply, and both X and his family are liable for the resulting injuries.
Since X had clear time and means to alert the police but chose to prepare for a fight instead, the shelter of private defence is lost for the whole group that took part.
So the correct answer is X and his family are liable, as they did not inform the police.
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Approach Solution -3
This question turns on one fact more than any other: the six-hour window and the nearby police station. Each wrong option either ignores that window or gets the group of people wrong.
- X is not liable, exercising private defence: This option overlooks that the right of private defence does not apply once a person had a real opportunity to seek help from the police instead, an opportunity X plainly had here.
- X and his family are not liable, exercising private defence: This makes the identical mistake as the first option, just extended to the whole family; the six-hour window and nearby station remove the right of private defence regardless of how many people took part.
- X is liable: This option correctly recognises that the right of private defence does not apply, but understates who is responsible, since X directed his family to arm themselves and join the confrontation as well, not just X alone.
- X and his family are liable, as they did not inform the police: This option gets both parts right, it identifies the reason the defence fails, the missed opportunity to inform the police, and correctly extends liability to the whole group that took part in the confrontation.
Because X had ample time and an easy route to the police but chose to arm his family instead, the protection of private defence is unavailable, and that unavailability extends to everyone who joined the fight, not X in isolation.
Therefore, the correct answer is X and his family are liable, as they did not inform the police.
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