Aligarh Muslim University

Faculty of Law

Assignment No.-1(GCT-1)

.Subject: Criminal Law-II.

Topic: Culpable Homicide amounting to Murder.

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Dr. Shakeel Ahmad Sachin Varshney
Professor, F/O Law F. No. 18BALLB-70
Aligarh Muslim University En. No: GJ3916
M. No.-9634090740

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 Acknowledgement
I wish to express my deep gratitude and sincere thanks to the Professor of the
discipline, Dr. Shakeel Ahmad for his encouragement and provided facilities for
this assignment. I sincerely appreciate his generosity by taking me into his fold for
which I shall remain indebted to him. I take this opportunity to express my deep
sense of gratitude to his invaluable guidance, ongoing encouragement, enormous
motivation, which has sustained my efforts at all the stages of assignment
preparation.

I can’t forget to offer my since thanks to my batchmates who helped me to carry

out this project successfully and for their valuable advice and support which I
have received all the time.

-Sachin Varshney

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 Content
Introduction……………………………..………….…………..1
Culpable Homicide Amounting to Murder...………..…………2
When an act is done with the intention of causing death…...….3
Inflicting of bodily injury [which the offender knows is likely cause death]…….…...3
Bodily injury which causes death [in the ordinary course of nature]…..…..….4
Illustrations………………………………………………….….5
Conclusion………………………………………………….…..6
Bibliography.……………………………………………….…..7

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Introduction
Section 299 and Section 300 IPC deals with the definition of culpable homicide and murder
respectively,

 Section 299 defines culpable homicide as the act of causing death; (i) with the intention of
causing death or (ii) with the intention of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause
death or (iii) with the knowledge that such act is likely to cause death. The bare reading of
the section makes it crystal clear that the first and the second clause of the section refer to
intention apart from the knowledge and the third clause refers to knowledge alone and not
intention.
 Both the expression "intent" and "knowledge" postulate the existence of a positive mental
attitude which is of different degrees. The mental element in culpable homicide i.e. mental
attitude towards the consequences of conduct is one of intention and knowledge. If that is
caused in any of the aforesaid three circumstances, the offence of culpable homicide is said
to have been committed. Section 300 IPC, however, deals with murder although there is no
clear definition of murder provided in Section 300 IPC. It has been repeatedly held by this
Court that culpable homicide is the genus and murder is species and that all murders are
culpable homicide but not vice versa.
 Section 300 IPC further provides for the exceptions which will constitute culpable homicide
not amounting to murder and punishable under Section 304, When and if there is intent and
knowledge then the same would be a case of Section 304 Part I and if it is only a case of
knowledge and not the intention to cause murder and bodily injury, then the same would be a
case of Section 304 Part II. The aforesaid distinction between an act amounting to murder
and an act not amounting to murder has been brought out in the numerous decisions of this
Court.
 The distinguishing features of these different categories of unlawful homicides are: the
degree of intention, knowledge, or recklessness with which a particular homicide is
committed. a very high degree (i.e., where death is a certainty) this constitutes murder, and if
the probability is not of that order, it is culpable homicide and if murder is committed under
grave provocation and consent, it is culpable homicide not amounting to murder For

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 instance, if A attacks B with a sharp-edged knife in his heart, resulting in B's death, A would
be guilty of murder. On the other hand, if A the probability of death resulting from a bodily
injury is of causes injury to B with a stick fracturing his skull, resulting in B's death, A
would be liable for culpable homicide not amounting to murder. In the first case, from the
nature of the injury and the instrument used for the purpose, it is certain that the injury will
cause the death of the victim; this is not so in the second case.

Culpable Homicide Amounting To Murder

Section 300 deals with Culpable Homicide amounting to murder. In other words the Section
states that culpable homicide is murder in certain situations. This makes us come to two
conclusions, namely:

1. For an act to be classified as murder it must first meet all the conditions of culpable homicide.

2. Secondly, all acts of murder are culpable homicide, but all acts of culpable homicides are not
murder. Pictorially speaking: - Section 300, IPC, 1860. 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 much 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 Now, let us study the situations in which culpable homicide does amount to murder.
Section 300 states, that except for situations states (which do not concern us as of now) culpable
homicide is murder in four situations:

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When an act is done with the intention of causing
death
The degree of intention required is very high for murder. There must be intention present and the
intention must be to cause the death of the person, not only harm or grievous hurt without the
intention to cause death. Instances would include:

1. Shooting someone at point blank range.

2. Stabbing someone in the hurt

3. Hanging someone by the neck till he dies

4. Strapping a bomb on someone

5. Administering poison to someone.

Remember the act must be accompanied with the intention to "cause death."1

Inflicting of bodily injury which the offender knows is

likely cause death
The second situation covers instances where the offender has special knowledge about the
victim's condition and causes harm in such a manner which causes death of the person. Look at
this part of Section 300 very carefully. It states that the offender "knows likely to be the cause of
death" Instances would include:

1. Sundar is a haemophilic patient. Bandar knows this and cuts him multiple places, which if
carried out on an ordinary person would not have cost him his life.

2. Lolo is suffering from jaundice. Bebo knows this and slips in alcohol in Lolo's medicine in
order to rupture Lolo's liver so Lolo dies. Lolo dies as a result consuming the adulterated
medicine.

1
Allen Gledhill, the Indian Penal Code in Nigeria. Year book of legal studies, (1960) department of legal studies ,
madras P. 17
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Bodily injury which causes death in the ordinary
course of nature
These situations cover such acts where there is bodily injury which in ordinary sequence of
events leads to the death of the person. Read the part of the section carefully. The section
actually has two conditions Firstly; the bodily injury inflicted is inflicted with the intention of
causing death of the person on whom it is inflicted. Secondly, the bodily injury caused in the
ordinary course of events leads to death of someone. An instance of the same would be:

1. Musharraf wants Sharif dead. In order to kill Musharraf picks up a hockey stick and
repeatedly hits him on the head. Sharif dies as a result of the injury.

Commission of an imminently dangerous act without any legitimate reason which would cause
death or bodily injury which would cause death. This head covers the commission of those acts
which are so imminently dangerous which when committed would cause death or bodily injury
which would result in death of a person and that such an act is done without any lawful excuse.
Cases under this head have three requirements Commission of an inherently dangerous act the
knowledge that the act in all probability will cause death or bodily injury which will cause death
and the act is done without any excuse (the excuse must be lawful legitimate excuse)

Instances would include:

1. Throwing a high intensity bomb in a crowded public place.

Thrown loaded cast iron boxes from a multi storied building in a busy thoroughfare.2

2
Ratanlal and Dhirajlal, Law of Crimes, 24" ed., (1997) vol. I. p. 169
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Illustrations
(a) A shoots Z with the intention of killing him. Z dies in consequence. A commits murder.

(b) A, knowing that Z is labouring under such a disease that a blow is likely to cause his death,
strikes him with the intention of causing bodily injury. Z dies in consequence of the blow. A is
guilty of murder, although the blow might not have been sufficient in the ordinary course of
nature to cause the death of a person in a sound state of health. But if A, not knowing that Z is
labouring under any disease, gives him such a blow as would not in the ordinary course of nature
kill a person in a sound state of health, here A, although he may intend to cause bodily injury, is
not guilty of murder, if he did not intend to cause death, or such bodily injury as in the ordinary
course of nature would cause death.

(c) A intentionally gives Z a sword-cut or club-wound sufficient to cause the death of a man in
the ordinary course of nature. Z dies in consequence, Here, A is guilty of murder, although he
may not have intended to cause Z's death.

(d) A without any excuse fires a loaded cannon into a crowd of persons and kills one of them. A
is guilty of murder, although he may not have had a premeditated design to kill any particular
individual.

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Conclusion
Section 299 and Section 300 IPC deals with the definition of culpable homicide and murder
respectively. Section 299 defines culpable homicide as the act of causing death; (i) with the
intention of causing death or (ii) with the intention of causing such bodily injury as is likely to
cause death or (iii) with the knowledge that such act is likely to cause death. The bare reading of
the section makes it crystal clear that the first and the second clause of the section refer to
intention apart from the knowledge and the third clause refers to knowledge alone and not
intention. Both the expression "intent" and "knowledge" postulate the existence of a positive
mental attitude which is of different degrees. The mental element in culpable homicide i.e.
mental attitude towards the consequences of conduct is one of intention and knowledge. If that is
caused in any of the aforesaid three circumstances, the offence of culpable homicide is said to
have been committed. Section 300 IPC, however, deals with murder although there is no clear
definition of murder provided in Section 300 IPC. Section 300 IPC further provides for the
exceptions which will constitute culpable homicide not amounting to murder and punishable
under Section 304. When and if there is intent and knowledge then the same would be a case of
Section 304 Part I and if it is only a case of knowledge and not the intention to cause murder and
bodily injury, then the same would be a case of Section 304 Part II. The aforesaid distinction
between an act amounting to murder and an act not amounting to murder has been brought out in
the numerous decisions of this Court in the scheme of the Penal Code, "culpable homicides" is
genus and "murder" its specie. All "murder" is "culpable homicide" but not vice- versa.
Speaking generally, "culpable homicide" sans "special characteristics of murder", is "culpable
homicide not amounting to murder". For the purpose of fixing punishment, proportionate to the
gravity of this generic offence, the Code practically recognises three degrees of culpable
homicide. The first is, what may be called, "culpable homicide of the first degree". This is the
greatest form of culpable homicide, which is defined in Section 300 as "murder".

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 Bibliography
1. Indian Penal Code, 1860.

2. PSA Pillai , Criminal Law (LexisNexis Publication, Nagpur 13th Edition).

3. Halsbury’s Laws Of India (LexisNexis Publication, Nagpur Vol. 11 2nd Edition).

4. SN Mishra,Indian Penal Code ( Central Law Publications, Allahabad, edition 2016).