Pepper spray is dangerous weapon: Karnataka High Court in recent ruling

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday ruled that pepper spray is a "dangerous weapon" and declined 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, as reported by The Financial Express.

As per the report, the case stemmed from an incident on April 29, 2023, where a criminal complaint was filed against the director and his wife for allegedly using pepper spray on a man who purportedly tried to interfere with their property. The court was considering a petition seeking to quash the criminal proceedings.

However, during the hearing, it was argued by the counsel representing the director and his wife that the pepper spray was used in self-defence, citing a knee injury sustained for which they had filed a criminal complaint.

In response to the argument, a single judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna dismissed the petition, stating that "The 2nd petitioner could not have used pepper spray as private defence, as prima facie there was no imminent threat or danger caused to her life. Therefore, the case at hand would require investigation in the least,", the outlet said citing Live Law.

The court cited a 2018 US court case, People vs Sandez, where pepper spray was deemed dangerous and rejected the plea.

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