Karnataka High Court deems pepper spray as a ‘dangerous weapon’: Report

The Karnataka High Court affirmed that pepper spray is a dangerous weapon, and rejected a self-defence plea in the CKC & Sons case.

The Karnataka High Court recently deemed pepper spray as a “dangerous weapon” while citing a recent US court ruling, and refused to halt investigations into a criminal case involving a director of C Krishnaiah Chetty & Sons (CKC & Sons), C Ganesh Narayan, and his wife, Vidya Nataraj.

High Court of Karnataka, Bangalore, India (Shutterstock)

The case originates from an altercation on April 29, 2023, where the petitioners allegedly assaulted Randeep Das, a security guard at CKC & Sons showroom in Bengaluru, and laborers on their compound wall, The Times of India reported. Amid the confrontation, Vidya purportedly used pepper spray.

Justice M Nagaprasanna, referencing IPC section 324, emphasized that causing harm with any potentially lethal instrument constitutes an offense. Pepper spray, the court noted, fits this category, drawing from a 2018 US court case, People vs Sandez, the publication said.

Dismissing the petitioners' claim of self-defence, Justice Nagaprasanna concluded that Vidya couldn't have legitimately used pepper spray as there was no immediate threat to her life, the report added.

The High Court stressed the necessity for investigation, aligning with a Supreme Court directive advising against high courts delving into the merits of such allegations at the initial stage.