Culpable Homicide and Murder

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Homicide

Difference between Culpable Homicide and Murder

The meaning of homicide is the killing of a human being or the killing of a man.

‘Culpable Homicide’ is the genus and ‘Murder’ is one of its species. 

[Held in Rampal Singh v. State of U.P]

For example: Homicide = Fruits, and Murder is an apple.

All murders are culpable homicide, but every culpable homicide is not a murder.

Culpable= Latin word ‘culpabilis’ which means worthy of blame

Homicide= Latin word ‘homo’ which means a man, and ‘caedere’ which means to cut or kill

There are 2 types of homicides:

1.Lawful Homicide

If the killing of a human being is an outcome of a reason or motive justified by the law, then it can be called a “Lawful Homicide”.

It can be lawful only when the reason or motive of the killing falls under the General Exceptions of the IPC

All general exceptions mentioned in Section-76 to 106, Chapter-4 of the Indian Penal Code are covered under this.

List of the General Exceptions

1. Mistake of fact (Secs. 76, 79).
2. Judicial acts (Secs. 77-78).
3. Accident (Sec. 80).
4. Absence of criminal intention (Secs. 81-86, 92-94).
5. Act done by consent (Secs. 87-91).
6. Trifling act (Sec. 95).
7. Private defence (Secs. 96-106).

Illustration

A is attacked by a mob who attempt to murder him. He cannot effectually exercise his right of private defence without firing on the mob, and he cannot fire without risk of harming young children who are mingled with the mob. A commits no offense if by so firing he harms any of the children. 

2.Unlawful Homicides (Culpable Homicide)

1. Culpable homicide not amounting to murder. (Section-299, IPC)

2. Culpable homicide amounting to murder. (Section-300, IPC) i.e also called only “Murder”.
   
   

THE INDIAN PENAL CODE, Section-299 defines:

Culpable homicide (Not amounting to murder)

Whoever causes death 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, or with the knowledge that he is likely by such act to cause death, commits the offence of culpable homicide.

Explanation 1.

A person who causes bodily injury to another who is labouring under a disorder, disease or bodily infirmity, and thereby accelerates the death of that other, shall be deemed to have caused his death.

Explanation 2.

Where death is caused by bodily injury, the person who causes such bodily injury shall be deemed to have caused the death, although by resorting to proper remedies and skilful treatment the death might have been prevented. 

Explanation 3.

The causing of the death of a child in the mother's womb is not homicide. But it may amount to culpable homicide to cause the death of a living child, if any part of that child has been brought forth, though the child may not have breathed or been completely born.

For Example

(a) A lays sticks and turf over a pit, with the intention of thereby causing death, or with the knowledge that death is likely to be thereby caused. Z, believing the ground to be firm, treads on it, falls in and is killed. A has committed the offense of culpable homicide.

THE INDIAN PENAL CODE, Section-300 defines:

Murder (Culpable homicide amounting to murder)

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— 

Secondly

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— 

Thirdly

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— 

Fourthly

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) A shoots Z with the intention of killing him. Z dies in consequence. 

A commits murder.

Exceptions, when culpable homicide is not murder!

Exception 1.

When culpable homicide is not murder?

Culpable homicide is not murder if the offender, whilst 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.

The above exception is subject to the following provisos:

First

That the provocation is not sought or voluntarily provoked by the offender as an excuse for killing or doing harm to any person. 

Secondly

That the provocation is not given by anything done in obedience to the law, or by a public servant in the lawful exercise of the powers of such public servant. 

Thirdly

That the provocation is not given by anything done in the lawful exercise of the right of private defence.

 

Explanation.—Whether the provocation was grave and sudden enough to prevent the offense from amounting to murder is a question of fact.

Exception 2.

Culpable homicide is not murder if the offender in the exercise in good faith of the right of private defence of person or property, exceeds the power given to him by law and causes the death of the person against whom he is exercising such right of defence without premeditation, and without any intention of doing more harm than is necessary for the purpose of such defence.

Exception 3.

Culpable homicide is not murder if the offender, being a public servant or aiding a public servant acting for the advancement of public justice, exceeds the powers given to him by law, and causes death by doing an act which he, in good faith, believes to be lawful and necessary for the due discharge of his duty as such public servant and without ill-will towards the person whose death is caused. 

Exception 4.

Culpable homicide is not murder if it is committed without premeditation in a sudden fight in the heat of passion upon a sudden quarrel and without the offender's having taken undue advantage or acted in a cruel or unusual manner. 

Explanation.—It is immaterial in such cases which party offers the provocation or commits the first assault. 

Exception 5.

Culpable homicide is not murder when the person whose death is caused, being above the age of eighteen years, suffers death or takes the risk of death with his own consent.

For Example

(a) Y gives grave and sudden provocation to A. A, on this provocation, fires a pistol at Y, neither intending nor knowing himself to be likely to kill Z, who is near him, but out of sight. A kills Z. Here A has not committed murder, but a merely culpable homicide.

Difference between ingredients of:

1.Culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and 

2.Culpable homicide amounting to murder

All the essentials or ingredients of culpable homicides (not amounting to murder) are ultimately essentials or ingredients of a murder but in an aggravated form.

Section-301

Culpable homicide by causing death of person other than person whose death was intended

If a person, by doing anything which he intends or knows to be likely to cause death, commits culpable homicide by causing the death of any person, whose death he neither intends nor knows himself to be likely to cause, the culpable homicide committed by the offender is of the description of which it would have been if he had caused the death of the person whose death he intended or knew himself to he likely to cause. 

Punishments defined by IPC

Section-302

Punishment for murder

Whoever commits murder shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine. 

Section-303

Punishment for murder by life-convict

Whoever, being under sentence of imprisonment for life, commits murder, shall be punished with death. 

Section-304

Punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder

Whoever commits culpable homicide not amounting to murder, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or imprisonment of either description 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 imprisonment of either description for 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-304(A)

Causing death by negligence

Whoever causes the death of any person by doing any rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.

Section-304(B)

Dowry death

1. Where the death of a woman is caused by any burns or bodily injury or occurs otherwise than under normal circumstances within seven years of her marriage and it is shown that soon before her death she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or any relative of her husband for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry, such death shall be called “dowry death”, and such husband or relative shall be deemed to have caused her death.

Explanation

For the purposes of this sub-section, “dowry” shall have the same meaning as in section 2 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (28 of 1961). 

Punishment

2. Whoever commits dowry death shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which may extend to imprisonment for life.

The writer is pursuing a degree of BA.LL.B (Bachelors of legislative law)

From, Department Of Law, Maharshi Dayanand University (Rohtak) Haryana, INDIA.

Reach him at Instagram @shivaanshvermaa