Section 301 IPC
301. Culpable homicide by causing death of person other than person whose death was intended.— If a person, by doing anything which he intends or knows to be likely to cause death, commits culpable homicide by causing the death of any person, whose death he neither intends nor knows himself to be likely to cause, the culpable homicide committed by the offender is of the description of which it would have been if he had caused the death of the person whose death he intended or knew himself to be likely to cause.
Final Thoughts
Introduction
Normally, to be guilty or convicted of culpable homicide, a person must either have intended to kill someone or know that their actions are likely to cause death. Section 301 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) talks about a situation where a person attempts to kill or injure someone but accidentally kills another person. Even though the person who died was not the intended target, the law still treats it as if the person had killed the intended victim.
Illustration
- Suppose a person A wants to kill B, and attacks him. But by mistake, C dies instead of B. Here, A did not want to kill C. But still, the law says he is guilty of culpable homicide just as he would have been if B had died. The law does not excuse the offender just because someone else died due to his act.
- A fires a gun at B with the intention to kill him. But C suddenly comes in between and gets shot and dies. Here, A is guilty under Section 301. It does not matter that C died instead of B. The intention of A was to cause death.
Key Points of Section 301 IPC
- Intention or Knowledge Must Be Present: The accused must have either intended to cause death or knew that his act was likely to cause death.
- Death of a Different Person: The person who actually dies is not the person whom the accused intended or expected to die.
- Still Treated as Same Offence: The offence is still considered as culpable homicide of the intended victim, even though someone else died.
Legal Principle Behind Section 301
This section follows the principle of “Transferred Malice” or “Doctrine of Transfer of Intention.”
This means: The wrongful intention (mens rea) to kill one person is transferred to the actual killing of another person. The law considers the intention and the act together, even if the victim changes.
Difference Between Section 299 and Section 301:
| Section 299 IPC | Section 301 IPC |
|---|---|
| General definition of culpable homicide | Special case where someone else dies instead of the intended person |
| Focus is on intention or knowledge causing death | Focus is on wrongful death of an unintended person |
| Direct link between act and victim | Victim is different from the intended person |