Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter III: General Exceptions · Of right of private defence
Section 34: Things done in private defence
In plain words
Nothing done while lawfully exercising the right of private defence (self-defence) is an offence. The sections that follow set out when the right exists and how far it goes.
A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.
Read the in-depth explanation, with key Supreme Court rulings ↓
Official text
Nothing is an offence which is done in the exercise of the right of private defence.
Corresponding sections were matched by comparing the wording of both official texts, and for the IPC and BNS, also against a published correspondence table. Wording, punishments and structure often changed, so read both sections before relying on the match.
Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 25 August 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.
Understanding this section
Section 34 states the principle behind sections 34 to 44: nothing is an offence if done in exercise of the right of private defence. These sections carry forward sections 96 to 106 of the IPC, now with lettered clauses. The law does not expect a person facing an unlawful attack to run or wait for the police, but the right is defensive, not punitive, and has strict limits.
How the sections fit together
- Section 35: the right covers your own and others' bodies, and property against theft, robbery, mischief or criminal trespass.
- Section 37: the limits. No right against a public servant acting in good faith (unless death or grievous hurt is reasonably feared), none where there is time to seek the authorities' protection, and never more harm than necessary.
- Sections 38 and 39: when defence of the body extends to causing death, and when it does not.
- Sections 40 and 43: when the right starts and how long it lasts.
- Sections 41 and 42: defence of property extending to death, and when it does not.
- Section 44: the right may be exercised even at risk of harm to an innocent person, if there is no other way.
Core principles
The right exists because the State cannot protect everyone everywhere. It belongs only to a person suddenly facing danger not of his own making; the aggressor cannot claim it. Force must not be unduly disproportionate to the harm reasonably feared, but courts do not weigh it with fine precision, because a person under attack cannot measure exactly the force needed.
The right begins with a reasonable apprehension of danger, even before a blow lands, and ends when the danger ends.
Burden of proof
The accused need prove the plea only on a preponderance of probabilities, and can do so from the prosecution's own evidence.
Exceeding the right
A person who had the right but in good faith went beyond it, killing the attacker without premeditation, commits culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Exception 2 to section 101, not murder.
Key Supreme Court rulings
Darshan Singh v. State of Punjab 2010 INSC 45
Decided under the IPC, whose private defence provisions are carried forward unchanged. A citizen need not behave like a coward when faced with imminent unlawful aggression; force must not be unduly disproportionate to the injury sought to be averted.
Ex. Ct. Mahadev v. The Director General, Border Security Force 2022 INSC 644
"It is enough for him to show as in a civil case that the preponderance of probabilities is in favour of his plea."
Kunhimuhammed @ Kunheethu v. The State of Kerala 2024 INSC 937
Aggressors cannot claim private defence, and superficial injuries did not justify a fatal stabbing.
Common mistakes
- Allowing the plea to the aggressor.
- Judging the force used with hindsight rather than from the defender's position in the moment.
Read with: Section 35 BNS, Section 37 BNS, Section 38 BNS, Section 41 BNS, Section 96 IPC
Prepared with AI assistance as a study aid. Every ruling listed was checked against the Supreme Court's own judgments on this site, and quoted words appear in those judgments; linked names open the full judgment. Read the judgments themselves before relying on them. Not legal advice.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 34
No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.