You can only defend yourself after you've actually been hit or hurt.

Courts have held that the right begins as soon as there's a reasonable fear of an attack, even before any physical harm occurs.

Once you start defending yourself, you can keep hitting the attacker as much as you want.

The right lasts only as long as the danger continues; continuing force after the threat has ended is not protected and can itself become an offence.

Indian Penal Code, 1860

Section 102

repealed

Commencement and continuance of the right of private defence of the body

The right of private defence of the body commences as soon as a reasonable apprehension of danger to the body arises from an attempt or threat to commit the offence though the offence may not have been committed; and it continues as long as such apprehension of danger to the body continues.§

Why this exists

The Indian Penal Code (1860), drafted under Lord Macaulay, recognized that the law cannot always protect a person in the exact moment of an attack, so ordinary people must sometimes be allowed to defend themselves. Section 102 fixes the timing of that right: it starts when danger is reasonably apprehended (not after the harm is done) and ends when the danger ends. This prevents both a legal gap (being defenseless while waiting for 'proof' of attack) and a licence for revenge (continuing to act after the threat has clearly passed).

How courts read it

Indian courts, including the Supreme Court, have repeatedly stressed that the 'reasonable apprehension' must be judged from the position of the person facing the threat at that moment, not with hindsight. Cases have clarified that the right ends the moment the attacker retreats, is disarmed, or the danger otherwise ceases — continuing to attack after that point turns self-defence into an offence. Courts also look at proportionality and the surrounding facts (nature of the threat, weapons involved, chance to retreat) to decide whether the apprehension was genuinely reasonable and whether the defensive action stayed within the life of that danger.

Common misconceptions

Myth: You can only defend yourself after you've actually been hit or hurt.
Fact: Courts have held that the right begins as soon as there's a reasonable fear of an attack, even before any physical harm occurs.
Myth: Once you start defending yourself, you can keep hitting the attacker as much as you want.
Fact: The right lasts only as long as the danger continues; continuing force after the threat has ended is not protected and can itself become an offence.