What is culpable homicide? When does it amount to murder?

The most serious exceptions to the crimes committed against the body are 'culpable homicide' and 'murder'. Sections 299 and 300 of the Indian Penal Code define them and punishment has been provided for them in Sections 302 and 304!

What is culpable homicide?

    Section 299 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 defines culpable homicide ie culpable homicide! According to this -
    Whoever, with intent to cause death or with intent to cause any bodily injury likely to cause death, or with knowledge that he is likely to cause death by that act, causes death, he commits the offense of culpable homicide!
    In this way, causing the death of a person by doing an act with the intention of causing death or with the intention of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death is culpable homicide!
    Example- A lays wood and grass on a pit with the intention of causing death or knowing it to cause death. Believing the ground to be sound, B walks upon it. A commits the offense of culpable homicide.And falls into the pit and dies!

essential element:-

    The following elements of culpable homicide are clear from the above definition -
    1- Causing the death of a person by doing an act with the intention of causing death,
    2- With the intention of causing any bodily injury which is likely to cause death, Causing death by doing an act,
    3- By doing an act causing death knowing that it is possible that he may cause death by that act.
    Ghanshyam Vs. State 1996 Cri.Law.J. 27 In the case of Mumbai, the husband pierced her chest after the wife refused to have sex, which was the result of desperation, momentary impulse and anger. The accused was held guilty of culpable homicide under clause (2) of section 299.

What is murder?

    The definition of 'murder' has been given in section 300 of the code. According to it - Except in certain exceptional cases, culpable homicide is murder, if the act by which death is caused is done with the intention of causing death or - 1- If it is done with the intention of causing such bodily injury by which
    the The offender knows that it is likely to cause the death of the person to whom he is causing harm,
    eg A fires at B with intent to cause him to die, so that B dies, is guilty of the murder of B.

    2- If it is done with the intention of causing bodily injury to any person and the bodily injury intended to be caused is intended to be caused in the ordinary course of nature or to cause death in the ordinary course of nature Sufficient, Example-
    A assaults B with a sword or stick knowing that it is sufficient to cause the death of a person. Therefore, B dies as a result. A is guilty of murdering B, though he may not have intended to cause B's death.
    3- If the person doing the act knows that the act is so dangerous that it is likely that he will cause death or will cause such bodily injury as is likely to cause death and he does not intend to cause death or such injury as aforesaid. Do such an act without any excuse to take the risk of causing it!
    Example- A knowing that B is suffering from such a disease that it is possible that it is possible that one blow may cause his death. Even then he strikes him with the intention of causing bodily injury which causes B's death. A is guilty of murder.

essential element:-

The following elements are reflected in the definition of murder:

1- Intent to cause death:-

The first essential element of murder is the intention to cause death.
Example- An accused named A locks the outside of a hut so that outsiders cannot open it. The deceased B was sleeping in the hut. A sets fire to the hut by which B dies. Here A's intention was to cause B's death. (R. Venkal AIR 1956 SC 171)

2- Causing bodily injury likely to cause death :-

The second essential element of murder is the causing of bodily harm by the accused with the intention that he knows it to be likely to cause death. (State of Uttar Pradesh Vs Ram Sagar Yadav AIR 1965 SC 416)
It is notable that no tool, equipment or weapon is prescribed for murder! Murder can be committed with any tool, equipment or weapon. (State of Uttar Pradesh v. Indrajit AIR 2000 SC 3158)

3- Causing bodily injury sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature :-

    It is the third essential element of murder that by doing an act by the accused with the intention of causing bodily harm which is sufficient to cause death in the ordinary course of nature.
    Example- A affixes plaster to B's mouth and ties the plaster with a handkerchief, and then stuffs cotton containing chloroform into B's nose and, tying his hands and feet, throws him into a drain, causing his death. It happens! A is guilty of murder. (Rajwant Singh AIR 1966 SC 148)
    a. Rayudu v. State AIR 2012 Sc. In the case of 1664, the husband doubted the character of the wife. One day he stabbed his wife's neck with a knife due to which a lot of blood flowed. In the medical report it was considered sufficient to cause death. The accused was held guilty of murder and not of culpable homicide!
    But if the bodily injury is such that it is not possible to cause death in the ordinary course of nature, then it will not be considered as murder. (Loknath Singh v. State of Rajasthan 1979 Cr.Law.J. 362 Rajasthan)

4- An act which is likely to cause death :-

    The fourth essential element of murder is to do such an act which is likely to cause death and there should be no excuse for it.
    Example- An accused named A says that he can make people safe from snakebite and as a result of this he gets B bitten by a snake which causes his death. A is guilty of murder. [Nag Balu (1921) 11 LBR 56]
   Similarly, A, intending to cause the death of B, strikes him on the head and inflicts five injuries on him, causing his death. A is guilty of murder because such injuries were likely to cause murder. (Jagdish v. State of Madhya Pradesh AIR 1981 SC 1167)

Exception under section 300 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860:-

    In Section 300 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, some exceptions have been given along with the definition of murder. These exceptions have many consequences. Like -
    1- Murder is a serious form of culpable homicide,
    2- Because of these exceptions every culpable homicide is not murder,
    3- Every murder is culpable homicide but not every culpable homicide is murder or it can be said that in the absence of these of exceptions, every culpable homicide is not murder,
    4- culpable homicide is a race, while murder is a race, that is, the scope of culpable homicide is very wide, while that of murder is limited.

Exception 1 Serious and sudden outbreak:-

    Culpable homicide is not murder if the offender, when he is deprived of the power of self-control by grave and sudden provocation, causes the death of the person who gave the provocation or causes the death of any other person by mistake or accident.
    Thus culpable homicide is not murder if the death is committed under grave and sudden provocation.
    Provided that it is necessary that such incitement
    must not— 1— be voluntarily provoked by the offender as a pretext for killing or causing harm to any person, or,
    2— be given by anything which may be done in obedience to law or by public servant in the lawful exercise of the powers of such public servant or,
    3- not by anything which is done in the lawful exercise of private defence.
    Example - Accused A sees his wife B having sex with neighbor C and at the same time he shoots B and C! It was considered as an act done under serious and sudden provocation.

Exception 2. Exercise of the right of private defence:-

Culpable homicide is not murder if the offender, in good faith exercising the right of private defense of person or property, exceeds the power conferred upon him by law and without premeditation and does more harm than is necessary for the purpose of such defense. without any intention of causing more harm than is necessary to cause that person's death. Against whom he is exercising such right of defence.
Example - A tries to whip B, but not in such a way as to cause grievous hurt to B. B takes out a pistol. K keeps the attack going! B, in good faith believing that he can by no other means avoid being fired, fires. And A is killed! B is not guilty of murder but of culpable homicide.

Exception 3. Excess in the exercise of his powers by a public servant:-

Culpable homicide is not murder, if the offender, being a public servant or assisting a public servant acting in the furtherance of public justice, exceeds the power conferred on him by law and by doing any act which he may lawfully do and believes in good faith to be necessary for the discharge of his duty as such public servant, and without prejudice to the person whose death is caused, to cause death.
Example- A person is arrested by a police officer on suspicion of theft. The person jumps from the police vehicle to escape from the custody of the police. With the police officer having no other means of stopping him, he shoots at him, which hits another person, killing him. The accused was held guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Exception 4 Sudden quarrel :-

    Culpable homicide is not murder if it is committed without premeditation in a sudden fight in the heat of a sudden quarrel and without the offender taking undue advantage or committing an act of cruelty.
    Example - There is a sudden quarrel between two parties and one of them is seriously injured by the accused with a deadly weapon, due to which he dies. The accused was held guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
    Where the accused and the deceased are brothers and there has been a long-standing enmity between them and there is a quarrel between the two on some matter and the accused causes the death of the deceased by stabbing him in the chest. 300 shall be entitled to the benefit of the fourth exception. (G.Vaktaiah v. State of Andhra Pradesh AIR 2008 SC 462)

Exception 5 Death by consent:-

    Culpable homicide is not murder if the person whose death is caused, being over eighteen years of age, with his consent, suffers death or takes the risk of death.
    Example - A wife used to be very sad due to the death of her son. She used to repeatedly pray to her husband that he should kill her. One day when the wife is asleep, the husband kills her. The husband was held guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. [Aranto Rurnagat (1866) WRCr. 57]
    State of Uttar Pradesh v. Virendra Prasad AIR 2004 SC on the issue of when culpable homicide is murder. It has been laid down by the Supreme Court in the case of 1517 that culpable homicide is murder if the following two conditions are satisfied -
    1- That the act by which death is caused is done with the intention of causing death or with the intention of causing bodily injury, 2- That the
    bodily injury is such as to cause death in the ordinary course of nature be enough for !
    Death penalty should be given in very serious cases. The murder of wife in property matters cannot be called a serious matter. It is not proper to consider the bad conduct of the accused in determining the punishment. (Swami Shraddhanand alias Murlimanohar Sharma v. State of Karnataka AIR 2007 SC 2531)