BENGALURU: Are bottles and jugs deadly and dangerous weapons? Can they be used to kill people? These questions were raised by counsel seeking bail for
Mohammed Nalapad Haris, son of
Shantinagar MLA N A
Haris, who is in prison for allegedly assaulting a youth, Vidwat L, in a UB City cafe last month.
Referring to the FIR which mentions that Vidwat was hit by “bottles and jugs”, senior counsel
CV Nagesh said bottle is not a deadly weapon and neither is jug.
Arguing that Haris Junior can’t be charged under IPC Section 326 (causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons), he said the section can be invoked if the object or weapon in question is one used for shooting, stabbing or cutting. A bottle or jug can’t be used for shooting, stabbing or cutting, and an assault made with a bottle/jug is unlikely to cause death,
Nagesh contended.
However, the high court refused to accept the advocate’s contention that Md Haris can be charged only under IPC Section 325 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) and not 326.
Observing that whether a bottle can be employed as an instrument for inflicting injuries or not depends on how it is used, Justice
Sreenivas Harish Kumar noted: “It is not necessary that bottles must be broken and used for committing an offence. A bottle which is hard, if used for assault, is likely to cause fractures.”
The judge, however, left it to the trial court to decide at the stage of framing charges on what offences Md Haris should be charged with, based on evidence produced by the prosecution. The court had rejected Haris’ bail plea on March 14.
Depends on impact, extent of injury: Experts
Legal experts agree with the court’s view. It is ultimately the effect of an attack that determines whether the weapon used can be termed dangerous. “It is the impact, the nature of injury and the interpretation which decides whether a bottle can be construed as a dangerous weapon or not,” said Ashok Haranahalli, who has been advocate general and also special public prosecutor for the CBI in the past. “In this case, the victim suffered serious injuries,” he pointed out.
H S
Chandramouli, former state public prosecutor, said what the victim has suffered decides whether the accused should be charged under IPC Section 325 or 326.