Prologue, There are categorically many offenses mentioned as Offences Against Human Body which includes but is not limited to Murder, Culpable Homicide, Death Causesing by Negligence, Causing death by grievous hurts, Wrongful restraint, unnatural offenses, kidnapping, and abduction and forced labor.Sec 299 of the Penal Code,1860: 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. Illustrations
(a) A lays sticks and turf over a pit, with the intention of there by 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 offence of culpable homicide.
(b) A knows Z to be behind a bush. B does not know it A, intending to cause, or knowing it to be likely to cause Z`s death, induces B fires and kills Z. Here B may be guilty of no offence; but A has committed 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 cause 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.
Murder distinguished from culpable homicide: "Culpable homicide" is genus, and "murder" is the specie. All "murder" is culpable homicide but not vice-versa. Presumption regarding intention or knowledge, Provocation caused by an act: the assault for murder cannot be said to be sudden and without meditation as the deceased was not armed.
The cases hereinafter naming 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.Illustrations: (a) A shoots Z with the intention of killing him. Z dies in consequence. A commits murder.
(b) 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.
(c) 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.
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.
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 having taken undue advantage or acted in a cruel or unusual manner.
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.
Essential of murder
(i) Having regard to the number of injuries inflicted on the deceased it was not possible to uphold the contention that there was no intention to kill.
(ii) When there was no evidence as to how death came about, evidence relating to the charge of murder was held to be insufficient and unacceptable.
Fight and Intention and knowledge: It is fallacious to contend that when death is caused by a single blow, clause thirdly is not attracted and, therefore, it would not amount to murder. The ingredient `intention` in that clause gives clue in a given case whether offence involved is murder or not.
Proof of sufficiency of the injury to cause death: (i) Where evidence of both eye witnesses reliable and well corroborated by medical and other evidence on record inspires confidence that accused had intention to kill deceased then conviction is liable to be sustained.
(ii) Where the ocular evidence is explicit and fully supported by medical evidence and evidence of other witnesses and evidence of witnesses who apprehended the accused after some hours of occurrence with blood stained weapon then absence of proof of motive will not render the entire prosecution case unbelievable, therefore, charge of murder against accused proved beyond all reasonable doubt.
(iii) Where the evidence of eye witnesses regarding assault to deceased by accused persons was truthful, reliable and clearly corroborated by medical evidence and common intention of accused persons to commit murder of deceased also proved therefore conviction under section 300/34 is proper.
(iv) Chain of evidence must be complete with fully established circumstances not to leave any reasonable ground for a conclusion consistent with the innocence of accused. It should be of conclusive nature.
Provocating must be the grave
The test of "grave and sudden" provocation is whether a reasonable man, belonging to the same class of society as the accused, placed in the situation in which the accused was placed would be so provoked as to lose his self-control. (2) In India, words and gestures may also, under certain circumstances, cause grave and sudden provocation to an accused so as to bring his act within the First Exception to section 300. (3) The mental background created by the previous act of the victim may be taken into consideration in ascertaining whether the subsequent act caused grave and sudden provocation for committing the offense.
Reasonable man`s-Test
With the knowledge that he is likely, by such act, to cause death
(i) In case of murder in which the conclusion of guilt is drawn by prosecution it must be fully established beyond all reasonable doubt and consistent with the guilt of the accused.
(ii) Legislature had advisedly used the words: "bodily injury as the offender knows to be likely to cause death". Therefore, from an understanding of the legislative intent of section 300, P.C., a culpable homicide becomes murder if the attacker causes an injury which he knows is likely to cause death and, of course, consequent to such injury, the victim should die.
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