In Brief
A Border Security Force constable was convicted of murder under Section 302 IPC for shooting a civilian near the Bangladesh border. The constable claimed he fired in self-defence when confronted by armed intruders attempting to cross the border. The High Court rejected this plea, relying on forensic evidence and witness testimony suggesting premeditated killing. The Supreme Court partly allowed the appeal, finding that on a preponderance of probabilities, the constable was entitled to private defence. The terrain and trajectory of bullets supported defensive firing from an elevated position. The Court modified the conviction to culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Exception 2 to Section 300 IPC, and released the appellant having already served 11 years imprisonment.
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