All Murders are Culpable Homicide, But Not all Culpable Homicide is Murder

Synopsis

• Introduction
• Meaning of Culpable Homicide
• Meaning of Murder
• Relationship between Culpable Homicide and Murder
• Why All Murders are Culpable Homicide
• Why Not All Culpable Homicide is Murder
• Conclusion

Introduction

In criminal law, specifically under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), the concepts of culpable homicide and murder relate to the unlawful killing of a human being. These two crimes are very similar, but the intent and surrounding circumstances decide whether the act is murder or culpable homicide.

Meaning of Culpable Homicide

Section 100 of The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) defines Culpable Homicide as: 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.

Examples of Culpable Homicide

(a) Alays sticks and turf over a pit, with the intention of thereby 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 to fire at the bush. B fires and kills Z. Here B may be guilty of no offence; but A has committed the offence of culpable homicide.

(c) A, by shooting at a fowl with intent to kill and steal it, kills B, who is behind a bush; A not knowing that he was there. Here, although A was doing an unlawful act, he was not guilty of culpable homicide, as he did not intend to kill B, or to cause death by doing an act that he knew was likely to cause death.

Meaning of Murder

Section 101 of The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) defines Murder as:

Except in the cases hereinafter excepted, culpable homicide is murder,––

• (a) if the act by which the death is caused is done with the intention of causing death; or
• (b) if the act by which the death is caused 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
• (c) if the act by which the death is caused 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
• (d) if the person committing the act by which the death is caused, 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.

Thus, murder is a serious form of culpable homicide.

Examples of Murder

(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.

Relationship Between Culpable Homicide and Murder

Culpable homicide is the broader category, and murder is the more serious, specific form within it. So: So:

• Every act of murder is first culpable homicide.
• But not every culpable homicide reaches the high level of intent required for murder.

Why All Murders are Culpable Homicide

To commit murder, the person must have intentionally caused death or intended to cause such bodily harm as to cause death. These mental elements (intention/knowledge) also satisfy Section 100 (Culpable Homicide).

Hence, murder always includes all ingredients of culpable homicide.

Why Not All Culpable Homicide is Murder

Sometimes the offender:

• did not intend to cause death,
• did not intend to cause injury sufficient to cause death,
• only knew of the possibility of death (not certainty),
• acted in a sudden fight, provocation, or without due consideration (premeditation).

Such cases fall under Section 105 BNS — Culpable Homicide Not Amounting to Murder.

Therefore, culpable homicide becomes murder only when intention/knowledge crosses a higher threshold described in Section 103 BNS.

Conclusion

Culpable homicide is a broad category of unlawful killing, committed intentionally or with knowledge. Murder is a specific, more serious type of murder, requiring a high degree of intent or a high degree of negligence.

Thus, every murder is culpable homicide, but many acts of culpable homicide are reduced to murder because the intent is less severe or the circumstances justify mitigating liability.