The Difference between Culpable Homicide and Murder

The Difference between Culpable Homicide and Murder :-
The difference between culpable
homicide and murder is very subtle .
Both the offences include the elements of knowledge and intention . The main distinction depends upon the degree of
risk to human life by the act .
If death is a likely result of the act of offender , it is culpable homicide ;
if death is a surely result of the act of offender , it is
murder.

The last clause of section 300
provides that the offender commits the act without any excuse for incurring the risk of causing death .
In the famous case of Reg v. Govinda ,
the accused knocked his wife down ,
put one knee on her chest , and struck
her two or three violent blows on her
face with the closed fist , producing
extravasations of blood on the brain
and she died in consequence . The
Court held that there being no intention
to cause death and the bodily injury not
being sufficient in the ordinary course
of nature to cause death , the offence
committed was not murder but culpable
homicide . In that case, the Hon’ble
Justice Melvill set forth the distinction
between Culpable Homicide and
Murder , as back as in 1876 which is
still now being followed . Hon’ble
Justice said , “ For convenience of
comparison , the provisions of section
299 and 300 may be stated thus …..
Culpable Homicide ( Sec. 299
Murder ( Sec. 300)
A person is said to commit culpable homicide , if the act by which the death is caused is done ---------
a) with the intention of causing death;
b) with the intention of causing such
bodily injury as is likely to cause death ;
c) with the knowledge that the act is
likely to cause death.

Subject to the five exceptions , culpable homicide is murder , if the act by which the death is caused is done ---
a) with the intention of causing death;
b) with the intention of causing such
bodily injury as the offender knows to
be likely to cause death of that
particular person ;
c) with the intention of causing bodily
injury to any person , such injury being
sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death ;
d) with the knowledge that the act is so
imminently dangerous that it must , in
all probability , cause death or such
bodily injury as is likely to cause death.
In the case of Inder Singh also the
elements of Section 299 and 300 were
compared and discussed .

Culpable Homicide is less serious offence than Murder . Culpable homicide is punishable for life , murder is punishable with death or imprisonment for life . And in both cases the accused shall also be liable
to fine .