NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has held that an aggressor cannot claim the `right of self-defence' if he trespasses into another person's property and causes death of the inmate by criminal assault.

A Bench of Justice S.B. Sinha and Justice R.V. Raveendran said that "a right of self-defence cannot be claimed when the accused are aggressors, when they go to the complainant's house well prepared for a fight and provoke the complainant party resulting in a quarrel and taking undue advantage that the deceased was unarmed, cause his death."

The Bench disposing of a criminal appeal held that in such cases "it cannot be inferred that there was any sudden quarrel or fight, although there might be mutual fight with weapons after the deceased was attacked. In such a situation, a plea of self-defence would not be available." The Bench noted that "where the right of self-defence is pleaded, the defence must be a reasonable and probable version satisfying the court that the harm caused by the accused was necessary for either warding off the attack or for forestalling the further reasonable apprehension from the side of the accused." The Bench said that to claim a right of self-defence extending to voluntarily causing death, the accused must show that there were circumstances giving rise to reasonable grounds for apprehending that either death or grievous hurt would be caused to him. Such a right would be available "if the offence related to robbery, house-breaking by night, mischief by fire committed on any building, theft, mischief or house-trespass."

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