What is murder under Section 300 IPC?

Subject to its five exceptions, Section 300 treated culpable homicide as murder when the act causing death fell within any of the four clauses stated in the section.

How many exceptions are there to Section 300 IPC?

Section 300 IPC contains five exceptions dealing with grave and sudden provocation, excess of private defence, excess by a public servant acting for public justice, sudden fight, and consent to the risk of death by a person above eighteen years.

Does Section 300 IPC prescribe punishment for murder?

Section 300 defines murder. Punishment for murder was prescribed by Section 302 IPC.

Section 300 IPC: Murder and When Culpable Homicide Is Not Murder

Section 300 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 defined the circumstances in which culpable homicide amounted to murder and set out five statutory exceptions in which culpable homicide was not murder.

Legal position covered: This article explains Section 300 IPC under the legal framework applicable immediately before the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 came into force on 1 July 2024. It is retained as a reference to the former IPC framework and matters for which that law remains relevant.

Contents

Definition of murder under Section 300
Four clauses of Section 300
Statutory illustrations
Five exceptions when culpable homicide is not murder
Sections 299, 300, 302 and 304
Frequently asked questions

Definition of Murder Under Section 300 IPC

Section 300 - Murder. Except in the cases hereinafter excepted, culpable homicide is murder if the act by which death is caused satisfies any of the four conditions stated in Section 300.

Section 300 must be read with Section 299. Section 299 defined culpable homicide; Section 300 identified the circumstances in which culpable homicide was murder, while its five exceptions identified circumstances in which the offence did not amount to murder.

Four Clauses of Section 300 IPC

Firstly - Intention to cause death.
The act by which death is caused is done with the intention of causing death.

Secondly - Particular knowledge about the victim.
The act is done with the intention of causing such bodily injury as the offender knows to be likely to cause the death of the particular person to whom the harm is caused.

Thirdly - Injury sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death.
The act 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.

Fourthly - Imminently dangerous act.
The person committing the act knows that it is so imminently dangerous that it must, in all probability, cause death or bodily injury likely to cause death, and commits the act without any excuse for incurring that risk.

Illustrations to the Definition of Murder

Illustration (a): A shoots Z with the intention of killing him. Z dies in consequence. A commits murder.

Illustration (b): A knows that Z suffers from a disease because of which a blow is likely to cause death, and intentionally causes such bodily injury. Z dies. A is guilty of murder although the same blow might not ordinarily kill a healthy person. If A did not know of the disease and the blow was not ordinarily sufficient to cause death, the illustration states that A is not guilty of murder unless the necessary intention existed.

Illustration (c): A intentionally gives Z a sword-cut or club-wound sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death. Z dies. A is guilty of murder although A may not have intended Z's death.

Illustration (d): A, without excuse, fires a loaded cannon into a crowd and kills a person. A is guilty of murder although there was no premeditated design to kill a particular individual.

When Culpable Homicide Is Not Murder - Five Exceptions

Exception 1 - Grave and Sudden Provocation

Culpable homicide is not murder if the offender, while deprived of the power of self-control by grave and sudden provocation, causes the death of the person who gave the provocation or causes the death of another person by mistake or accident.

Provisos:

The provocation must not have been sought or voluntarily provoked by the offender as an excuse for killing or doing harm.
The provocation must not have been given by anything done in obedience to law or by a public servant in the lawful exercise of the public servant's powers.
The provocation must not have been given by anything done in the lawful exercise of the right of private defence.

Explanation: Whether the provocation was grave and sudden enough to prevent the offence from amounting to murder is a question of fact.

Illustration (a): A, under passion caused by provocation from Z, intentionally kills Y, Z's child. This is murder because the child did not give the provocation and the death was not caused by accident or misfortune in doing an act caused by the provocation.

Illustration (b): Y gives grave and sudden provocation to A. A fires at Y and, without intending or knowing himself likely to kill Z who is nearby but out of sight, kills Z. The illustration treats this as culpable homicide and not murder.

Illustration (c): A is lawfully arrested by Z, a bailiff, becomes violently enraged and kills Z. This is murder because the provocation arose from a public servant lawfully exercising his powers.

Illustration (d): A appears as a witness before Z, a Magistrate. Z says that he disbelieves A's deposition and that A has perjured himself. A is moved to sudden passion and kills Z. This is murder.

Illustration (e): A attempts to pull Z's nose. Z lawfully exercises private defence and restrains A. A is moved to sudden and violent passion and kills Z. This is murder because the provocation resulted from lawful private defence.

Illustration (f): Z strikes B and B becomes violently enraged. A, intending to exploit B's rage and cause Z's death, gives B a knife. B kills Z. B may have committed only culpable homicide, but A is guilty of murder.

Exception 2 - Exceeding the Right of Private Defence

Culpable homicide is not murder if the offender, while exercising in good faith the right of private defence of person or property, exceeds the power given by law and causes the death of the person against whom that right is exercised, without premeditation and without intending to do more harm than necessary for the purpose of defence.

Illustration: Z attempts to horsewhip A in a manner not likely to cause grievous hurt. A draws a pistol. Z persists. A, believing in good faith that there is no other means of preventing the assault, shoots Z dead. The illustration states that A has committed culpable homicide but not murder.

Exception 3 - Public Servant Exceeding Powers

Culpable homicide is not murder if the offender, being a public servant or aiding a public servant acting for the advancement of public justice, exceeds the powers given by law and causes death by an act which the offender, in good faith, believes to be lawful and necessary for the due discharge of duty, and acts without ill-will towards the person whose death is caused.

Exception 4 - Sudden Fight

Culpable homicide is not murder if it is committed without premeditation in a sudden fight, in the heat of passion upon a sudden quarrel, and without the offender having taken undue advantage or acted in a cruel or unusual manner.

Explanation: It is immaterial which party offered the provocation or committed the first assault.

Exception 5 - Consent

Culpable homicide is not murder when the person whose death is caused, being above eighteen years of age, suffers death or takes the risk of death with that person's own consent.

Illustration: A, by instigation, voluntarily causes Z, a person under eighteen years of age, to commit suicide. Because of Z's age, Z is incapable of giving the consent contemplated by the exception; the statutory illustration states that A has therefore abetted murder.

Sections 299, 300, 302 and 304 IPC - How They Relate

Provision	Legal function under the IPC
Section 299	Defined culpable homicide.
Section 300	Defined when culpable homicide is murder and contained five exceptions when it is not murder.
Section 302	Prescribed punishment for murder.
Section 304	Prescribed punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Section 304A	Dealt with causing death by a rash or negligent act not amounting to culpable homicide.

Accordingly, Section 300 was principally a classification and definition provision. Whether a homicide amounted to murder required consideration of the relevant clause of Section 300 and, where raised on the facts, the statutory exceptions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Section 300 IPC define?

Section 300 defined when culpable homicide amounted to murder, subject to five statutory exceptions.

How many clauses define murder in Section 300?

The main part of Section 300 contains four clauses, conventionally described as Firstly, Secondly, Thirdly and Fourthly.

How many exceptions did Section 300 contain?

Five: grave and sudden provocation; exceeding the right of private defence; excess of power by a public servant acting for public justice; sudden fight; and consent by a person above eighteen years to death or the risk of death.

Did Section 300 prescribe punishment for murder?

No. Section 300 defined murder. Section 302 IPC prescribed the punishment for murder.

What is the relationship between Sections 299 and 300 IPC?

Section 299 defined culpable homicide. Section 300 specified when culpable homicide was murder and stated exceptions in which culpable homicide did not amount to murder.

Is this page about the law before BNS 2023 came into force?

Yes. It explains the IPC framework immediately before commencement of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 on 1 July 2024.

Note: This article is a general reference to the pre-BNS statutory framework. The classification of a homicide depends on the proved facts, applicable statutory clauses and exceptions, date of occurrence and governing law.