In Brief
Brij Lal, a government employee, shot at an unarmed gathering of villagers after they attempted to stop him from harassing a colleague, Mohan Lal. The accused claimed self-defence under Section 300 IPC, arguing he fired only when attacked by the mob. The trial court acquitted him, but the High Court set aside the acquittal and convicted him of murder. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction, holding that the prosecution witnesses' uncontradicted testimony proved the villagers—including women and children—were unarmed and merely trying to persuade the accused to leave. With no evidence of actual attack on the accused, indiscriminate firing at such a gathering could not be justified as self-defence.
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