BACK TO SECTIONSAIR 1958 SC 465AIR 1977 SC 45
Non-BailableCognizable: YesCourt of Session
THE STATUTE
Original Text
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.
Simplified
Section 299 defines culpable homicide — the genus of which murder is the most serious species. Every murder is culpable homicide, but not every culpable homicide is murder. Three mental states constitute culpable homicide: (1) Intention to cause death; (2) Intention to cause bodily injury likely to cause death — where the accused intended to hurt but not necessarily kill, yet the injury was of a type that could foreseeably cause death; (3) Knowledge that the act is likely to cause death — where no specific intent to harm a particular victim existed, but the accused knew death was a probable consequence. The third limb is significant: reckless firing into a crowd, administering a known lethal substance, or dangerous demolition work over a populated area all fall within it. Section 299 is the entry point of the homicide analysis — the prosecution must first establish culpable homicide, then decide whether the additional conditions for murder (Section 300) are met.
Legal Evolution
The IPC's three-limb culpable homicide definition was Macaulay's most sophisticated philosophical contribution — graduating the mens rea from specific intent to constructive knowledge, capturing a spectrum of lethal moral culpability.
Landmark Precedents
Virsa Singh v. State of Punjab (1958)
RELEVANCE
Foundational judgment on the second clause — accused need not intend death, but must have intended the specific bodily injury that in fact proved fatal.
State of AP v. Rayavarapu Punnayya (1976)
RELEVANCE
Systematic distinction between murder and culpable homicide not amounting to murder — the analytical framework used in every homicide case.
Practical Scenarios
"Firing a gun into a crowd without targeting anyone, killing a bystander — culpable homicide (knowledge limb)."
"Stabbing someone repeatedly in vital areas intending serious injury — culpable homicide (second limb)."
"Administering a fatal dose of medication knowing the patient cannot survive it — culpable homicide (third limb)."
Common Queries
No — culpable homicide is the broader category. Murder (Section 300) is culpable homicide elevated by specific aggravating mental states. Not all culpable homicide meets the murder threshold.