Homicide is a Latin term in which ‘homi’ means human being and ‘cide’ means to cut, therefore homicide is an act in which a person is killed by another person. Homicide is one of the most dreadful act a person can commit. It is the responsibility of the legislation to make such laws that deter the criminals from performing such acts. Besides this the judiciary also plays a very important role by punishing the guilty and providing justice to the victim or his family. The criminal legal system of any country considers homicide as the highest order of bodily injury inflicted on any human being and due to this regulations have been made which are strict to ensure that such type of offences does not happen in a society.
Homicide in itself is a generic term and includes both lawful and unlawful homicide. Each and every homicide is not unlawful. In such a case the person is not tried as an accused of homicide by the law. Lawful homicide includes death by a person in self defence or due to sudden provocation or insanity etcetera. While Culpable homicide is an unlawful homicide. Chapter XVIof the Indian Penal Code deals with offences affecting the human body.
Culpable Homicide
Section 299 of IPC defines the offence of Culpable Homicide. According to the definition, where an act is done by a person with the intention of causing death or with the intention of causing such bodily injury which is likely to cause death or having such knowledge that his/her act will result in death of a person. Then the person is said to commit the offence of Culpable Homicide. Through this definition it is clear that the presence of both physical and mental element is necessary to constitute the offence of Culpable Homicide.
Illustration: ‘A’ digs a deep pit and covers it with turf with the intention of causing death of ‘X’ who is likely to take that path. A also has the knowledge that falling into the dig would lead to death of the person. X takes a step on the turf and falls into the pit and dies. A has committed the offence of Culpable Homicide.
Essentials of Culpable Homicide
- Death caused by an act/omission –The first and the foremost ingredient necessary for calling an offence culpable homicide is that there must be death or an injury which is likely to cause death due to any act or omission of another. The definition clearly states that ‘whoever commits an act’ therefore the act is an essential element. In most cases the act may involve a high degree of violence to another like stabbing a person in vital organs or shooting a person at point blank range. But it is not at all necessary that the act is violent in nature non violent acts by a person can also constitute Culpable Homicide. For example a person stabs another person multiple times with the intention of causing death. This will amount to culpable homicide as the act done by the former person causes death of the latter.
In the case of Moti Singh v State of Uttar Pradesh AIR 1964 SC 900, (1964) Cr LJ 727(SC)the accused shot two gunshots on the abdomen region of the victim who was later hospitalized. After three weeks the victim died but there was lack of evidence that the death of the victim was because of the shots fired. The Supreme Court held that even though the fact that the accused act was dangerous for the life of victim, it cannot constitute culpable homicide. The court asked for the evidence that that the victim died to the injuries inflicted by the gunshots but due to the lack of the same the accused was not held guilty for culpable homicide and stated that the connection between the injuries and the death of the deceased should not be too remote in nature.
- Intention of the person–The act committed by the offender must be coupled with the intention to cause death of the person. The mental element is necessary to complete the offence of culpable homicide. It is also the main difference between the lawful homicide and unlawful homicide. In simple terms intention means that a person has pre-established in his mind to kill a person or commit any crime. Thus by jokingly a person hits another person and the latter falls from the height and dies later due to the injuries, here there is no intention to cause death but if the person has already set his goal to hit the other person so that the person falls and dies. This act is done with an intention and thus the offender has committed culpable homicide.
- Knowledge of the person–The section 299 besides mentioning intention has also included that the even if the person has knowledge of the fact that his act would cause death of an another person, he would be held guilty for culpable homicide. Knowledge is different than intention to the extent that knowledge is an awareness of the consequences of the act or omissions. In many cases intention and knowledge depict the same but it is important that the two connotes a different perspective of a case.
Murder
The Indian Penal Code deals with murder (or culpable homicide amounting to murder) and its exceptions in section 300. According to this section, “Except in the cases hereinafter excepted, culpable homicide is murder, if the act by which the death is caused is done with the intention of causing death, or—
2ndly.—If it is done with the intention of causing such bodily injury as the offender knows to be
likely to cause the death of the person to whom the harm is caused, or—
3rdly.—If it is done with the intention of causing bodily injury to any person and the bodily injury intended to be inflicted is sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death, or—
4thly.—If the person committing the act knows that it is so imminently dangerous that it must, in all probability, cause death, or such bodily injury as is likely to cause death, and commits such act without any excuse for incurring the risk of causing death or such injury as aforesaid.”
Illustration : ‘A’ shoots ‘B’ with the intention of killing him and as a consequence B dies. A has committed murder.
Thus through this section it can be concluded that all murders are culpable homicide but the vice versa is not true.
Essentials of murder
Essential elements of murder are:
- Intention to cause death–Situation one to the section 300 says that the act of culpable homicide will amount to murder if the death of the person is caused with the intention of causing death. The mens rea is an important aspect here as the offence is very much depended on the mental element of the offence. The intention of the accused can be understood by his grievous act which may include :
- Shooting someone at point blank range
- Injuries inflicted on essential parts of the body required for survival.
- Giving deadly poison to the victim.
In the case of Vasanth v. State of Maharashtra, the accused and the deceased had enmity towards each other. During the fight, the accused who was enraged started his vehicle and drove in the opposite direction. It hit the deceased and killed him as the whole vehicle went over him. The court observed that the circumstances were such that even in a deserted wide road, the accused drove in the wrong direction and caused the death. This shows the intention of the accused to kill the deceased.
- Intention of causing bodily injury which the offender knows is likely to cause death.
The second situation covers both intention as well as knowledge as it states that the offender must have an intention of causing such bodily injury of which he is aware of and has the knowledge that the injury is likely to cause death of the person.
- Bodily injury likely to cause death in ordinary course of nature –The third case requires there must be an intention of causing bodily injury which in ordinary course is sufficient for the death of the person.
- Knowledge that the act is imminently dangerous to life–The fourth situation does not require any intention and covers those acts which are imminently dangerous and if inflicted would in all probability cause death of the person or any bodily injury which is likely to cause death and the offender commits such an offence without any lawful excuse. In the case of State of Madhya Pradesh v Ram Prasad AIR 1968 SC (881), the husband poured kerosene on her wife and set her blaze due to a quarrel. The wife suffered serious injuries and subsequently died. It was held by the court in the above case that the intention was unnecessary and the knowledge of the act that burning a person live is sufficient to cause death or the injury likely to cause death was present in the case and thus the offender was held guilty of committing murder.
Exceptions in section 300 (Culpable Homicide not amounting to murder)
Section 300 of the Indian Penal Code lists some of the exceptions in which the offence of culpable homicide will not amount to murder. These are:
- Grave and sudden provocation –Under this exception the accused can plead before the court that on account of losing self control his act resulted into the death of the person. The provocation must be grave and sudden and it should not be self invited.
Illustration: ‘A’ provokes ‘Z’ and under such provocation Z shoots B neither intending nor knowing that the bullet will hit another person who was near him. Z has committed culpable homicide and not murder.
- When the person exceeds the power of private defence –This exception provides that the offence committed by the defender will not amount to murder if the person exceeds his power provided to him by the law and causes death of a person against whom he has exercised his right to defence.
- Exceeding the ambit of power possessed by a public servant : This exception is provided to a public servant who in good faith exceeds the power provided to him by law and causes death of any person. In this case the offence will not amount to murder but as culpable homicide.
- When death is caused by a sudden fight and in heat of passion upon a sudden quarrel
In the case of sudden fight if the offender causes death without premeditation and without acting in a cruel or unusual manner, in the heat of passion then the offence is said to be culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
- When death is caused of a person above eighteen years of age who voluntarily took the risk of death –In this case the death is not considered as murder if the deceased is above eighteen years of age and who suffers death due to his own consent. This exception depends upon the circumstances of the case.
Illustration: A, by instigation, voluntarily causes Z, a person under eighteen years of age of commit suicide. Here, on account of Z’s youth, he was incapable of giving consent to his own death; A has therefore abetted murder.
Difference between Culpable Homicide and Murder
As already discussed all murders are culpable homicide but the vice versa is not true and therefore we can say that culpable homicide is like a genus and Murder is one of its type i.e. species. The former is comparatively less serious in nature than the latter. The only difference between the two lies in the degree of intent and knowledge.
In culpable homicide there is an ambiguity regarding the death of the person but in murder the probability of the death of person must be 100%. The ‘intention’ also plays a role and any act done with the intention of causing death or any bodily injury which would lead to death of a person must be of higher degree in murder than culpable homicide. Same is with the case of ‘knowledge’, in murder the accused must have the knowledge that his act is imminently dangerous to life and in all probability would cause death of the person whereas an offender is said to commit culpable homicide if he has the knowledge that his act would likely cause death of another person.
Section 300 also explicitly mentions the exceptions by which the offence would only amount to culpable homicide and not murder.
In the case of Reg v Govinda (1877) ILR 1 Bom 342, a clear distinction was drawn between the offence of culpable homicide and murder. According to the facts of the case there was a quarrel between the husband and the wife. In fit of anger the husband knocked out his wife and after falling on the ground he punched her several times in face. According to the evidence the skull was not fractured but the blow caused an extravagation of blood on the brain, and the girl died in consequence either on the spot, or very shortly afterwards. Herein, Melvil, J, held that the man was liable under Section 299 of IPC because clearly there was no intention to cause death and the act was not grave enough to cause death on the spot.
Punishment for Culpable homicide and Murder
Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code deals with the punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. According to it whoever commits culpable homicide not amounting to murder shall be punished with:
- Imprisonment for life, or;
- Imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, and ;
- Shall also be liable to fine if the act by which the death is caused is done with the intention of causing death, or of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death, OR ;
- With an imprisonment with either description of a term which may extend to ten years or with fine or with both if the act is done with the knowledge that it is likely to cause death, but without any intention to cause death, or to cause such bodily injury as is likely to cause death.
Section 302 deals with the punishment for murder or culpable homicide amounting to murder (section 300), it states that whoever commits murder shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to pay fine.
Sources:
- Indian Penal Code, 1860.
- indian kanoon
- legalbites.in/culpable-homicide-murder-difference
- D. Gaur, Indian Penal Code 1860, 5th edition.
This blog is written by Alok Dubey, Asian Law College.
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- Minerva Mills Case (Case Summary)
- The Constitution (103rd Amendment), Act 2019
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