Murder vs. Culpable Homicide — Understanding the Key Differences

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 According to Sir William Blackstone, “When a person, of sound memory and discretion, unlawfully kills any reasonable creature in being and under the king’s peace, with malice aforethought, either express or implied.”

When a person deprives someone of his life, he may or may not be liable for murder but in a broader sense, he has committed culpable homicide. So we can say that “All murders are culpable homicides but all culpable homicides are not murders.” In this article, we will discuss the differences between the types of culpable homicides and murder.

Culpable Homicide

The term Homicide, in its broadest sense, is the act of causing the death of another person. It refers to the unlawful killing of a human being, excluding situations where the killing is justified or excused by law. Homicide is a criminal offense that is categorized into different degrees or classifications, such as justifiable homicide, accidental homicide, culpable homicide, and murder depending on the jurisdiction. Culpable homicide is divided into two categories including culpable homicide amounting to murder and culpable homicide not amounting to murder. Section 299 of the Indian Penal Code deals with ‘Culpable Homicide’, it states that “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.”

Murder

Murder is a type of homicide that is defined under Section 300 of the IPC, it states that “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.”

Elements of Murder

  • The intention of causing death of another person is the primary element of murder.
  • The intention of causing bodily injury or physical injury that is likely to cause death of another person or result in serious injury to another person.
  • The same should be done with the knowledge that a particular action would result in the death of another person.

Click Here To Read The Full Article

Also Read:
Capital punishment in India
Constitutional validity of Death Penalty or Capital punishment in India

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