Culpable Homicide
Definition
BNS Section 100. The genus offence; murder under Section 101 is the species when one of four enumerated conditions is met.
- Statute
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Section 100
- Relationship to murder
- Genus offence; murder is the species
- Murder provision
- BNS Section 101
- Distinguishing factor
- One of four enumerated conditions under Section 101
Common questions
What does it mean to call culpable homicide the genus and murder the species?+
Every murder is a culpable homicide, but not every culpable homicide is a murder. Section 100 covers unlawful killings generally, and a case only escalates to murder under Section 101 when specific aggravating conditions defined in that section are met, so the classification determines which charge and penalty range applies.
Why does this classification matter for the forensic evidence presented at trial?+
Because the distinction turns on the accused's intent and the enumerated statutory conditions rather than the physical facts of the killing alone, forensic findings such as injury pattern, weapon, and cause of death feed into establishing intent and circumstance, which the court then maps onto the statutory conditions to decide the charge.
Related terms
- BNS 2023
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, Act 45 of 2023. India's substantive criminal code with effect from 1 July 2024. Contains 358 sections in...
- BNSS 2023
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023, the statute that replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure. It introduced a mandatory forensic-scene-visit requirement for offences...
- BSA 2023
- Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023: the Indian evidence statute that replaced the Indian Evidence Act 1872 on 1 July 2024; retains the section...
- Inchoate Offences
- Offences punished even though the principal harm did not occur: abetment (Sec 45-50), criminal conspiracy (Sec 61), attempt (Sec 62).
- Organised Crime
- A structured group of three or more persons that operates continuously, with the aim of committing serious offences for material benefit, and...