CULPABLE HOMICIDE AND MURDER

 

Chapter xvi sec-299 to 304 of IPC DEALS WITH CULPABLE HOMICIDE AND MURDER

Culpable homicide

Meaning;-

Homicide = homo  + cido (Latin words)

·        Homo means human

·        Cido means killing

So Homicide means the killing of a human being by a human being.

Homicide may be either lawful or unlawful.

 (a) Lawful Homicide : In case of lawful homicide, law will set the culprit free. 


(b) Unlawful Homicide :  

       If death is caused with intention or knowledge to cause death, then homicide is classified as unlawful homicide. These cases are Culpable homicide Under Section 299 of the Indian Penal Code and Murder under Section 300 of I.P.C. 

Culpable means criminal manner or punishable by law.

So Culpable homicide  means death through human agency punishable by law.

Section 299 and Section 300 Indian Penal Code, 1860, deals with the definition of culpable homicide and murder respectively

SEC -299 DEFIEN CULPABLE HOMICIDE IN SIMPLE WAY culpable homicide are two kinds

1.  Culpable Homicide Amounting to Murder: It is known as simple murder

2.  Culpable homicide not amounting to Murder:

There is necessarily a criminal or knowledge in both. The difference does not lie in quality, it lies in the quantity or degree of criminality closed by the act

 

 

Culpable homicide is genus and murder the specis

Culpable homicide is the Genus, and murder is the Species. All murder are culpable homicide but not vice-versa, it has be held in Nara singh Challan v/s Sate of Orrisa (1997c. Culpable homicide genus. Sec -300 defiens murder. And also say circumstance when culpable homicide turn in to murder.

 which which means murder is the species of culpable homicide. It is noted here noted that the the culpable homicide not amounting to murder is not defiend separetly in ipc. It is defiend a part of murder in IPC

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CULPABLE HOMICIDE ON THE BASIS OF DEFINATIONS

COMMON ELEMENT :-when an Act/omission (actusreous ) resulting the death of another human being it would be culpable homicide if any of the mensrea are their

Culpable Homicide (sec-299)	When Culpable Homicide is murder (sec-300)	When culpable homicide is not murder (5-exception of sec-300)
1.  Intention to cause death	a.  Intention to cause death (no extra element necessary)	·        Provocation ·        Right of private defence ·        public servant exceeding his power ·        sudden fight ·        with consent
2.  Intention of such bodily injury as is likely to cause death.	·        + knowledge of the offender ·        +sufficient in ordinary course of nature
3.  With knowledge of possibility of death	+ surety of knowledge of death

     

CULPABLE HOMICIDE

ESSENTIAL INGRIEDIENTS OF SEC-299

a)  Cause of a death of a human being

b)  Such death must have been caused by doing an act

                      I.     With an intention to causing death

                     II.     With an intention to causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death.

                    III.     With knowledge that the doer is likely by such act to cause death.

As per the sec.300 of IPC  except the exceptions culpable homicide is murder, it the act by which death is caused:

1.      with the intention of causing death or

2.   It an intention of causing such bodily injury as the offender knows to be likely to cause the death or

 

3.   with the intention of causing such bodily injury as is sufficient ordinary cause of nature to cause death

4.with knowledge that the act is so imminently dangerous that it must in all probability, cause death

Whenever the court has find out wheather an offence is culpable homicide not amounting to murder or murder it should be followed three steps

First- a causal conection has to be established between the act of the accused and death caused

Onces that is proved

The next step is finding out wheather the act of the accused is culpable homicide as defined u/s 299 ipc .

If answer is affirmative

Then the court has to be find wheather the case come within the ambit any of the four clauses of sec-300 .

If the answer is negative the offence is culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

But if the answer is positive then it is murder

And also if the answer is positive but fall within any of the exception u/s-300 then also it will culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

 

 

 

 

Illustrations

·       A shoots Z with intention of killing him, Z dies in consequence, A commits murder.

·         A knowing that Z is labouring under such disease that a blow is likely to cause his death, strike him with the intention of causing bodily injury, Z dies in consequences of blow.  A is guilty of murder.

·         A’ knows that Z  is behind a bush,  B does not know it. A intending to cause or knowing that is likely to cause Z’s death induces B to fire at the bush.  B fires and kills Z. Here B may be guilty of no offence, but A has committed the offence of culpable homicide.

 

 

Leading case laws

 

 Reg. V/s. Govinda 1876 (Bom): In this case the accused kicked his wife who was 15 years old and gave her a few blow on the body with the result she fell down on the ground. Then he put one knee on her chest and struck her a few more blow resulting in her death. The lower court convicted him of murder. There were different opinions amongst the two judges of the High Court and consequently the matter was referred to a third Judge, Justice Melvil, who held the accused guilty under clause (2) of sec.299 for culpable homicide and sentenced him u/s 304 part I on the grounds that the death was caused with the intention on the part of the accused to cause such bodily injury as was likely to cause death