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10.7.
In this Chapter, we discuss the right to life and the right to liberty,
including protection from arbitrary arrest or detention.
Section 14
Section 14 protected the right to life and enacted as follows:
“14-(1) No person shall intentionally be deprived of his life
save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a
criminal offence of which he has been convicted.
(2) Without prejudice to any liability for a contravention of
any other law with respect to the use of force in such case4s
as are hereinafter mentioned, a person shall not be regarded
as having been deprived of his life in contravention of this
section if he dies as the result of the use of force to such an
extent as is reasonably justifiable in the circumstances of the
case –
i.
for the defence of any person from
violence or for the defence of property;
ii.
in order to effect a lawful arrest or to
prevent the escape of a person lawfully
detained;
iii.
for the purpose of suppressing a riot,
insurrection or mutiny; or
iv.
in order lawfully to prevent the
commission by that person of a criminal
offence, or if he dies as a result of a
lawful act of war.”
10.8
The right to life is breached only in cases where a person has been
“intentionally” deprived of his life. Thus, in the context of the internal security
operation, an accidental killing or a fatality occurring during cross-fire between
gunmen and the security forces would not contravene the right to life. “Extra-
judicial killings” are, however, at a different level. They are murders –
intentional deprivation of life.