BNS Section 102 — Culpable homicide by causing death of person other than person whose death was intended

Summary

A person who does something intending or knowing it is likely to cause death commits culpable homicide if that act actually causes the death of someone else, even if that other person's death was not intended or foreseen. In such a case, the offence is treated as the same type of culpable homicide as it would have been if the intended victim had died instead.

Official Text

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.

Related Judgments

• SC (2025) Vol.3 p.1309 — Supreme Court of India (2025)
• SC (2025) Vol.6 p.280 — Supreme Court of India (2025)
• SC (2025) Vol.11 p.291 — Supreme Court of India (2025)
• SC (2025) Vol.3 p.1531 — Supreme Court of India (2025)
• BALWINDER SINGH v. STATE OF PUNJAB NOVEMBER 9, 1995 B — Supreme Court of India (S)
• DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v. MRS. VIJA YA C. GURSHANEY AND ANR. AUGUST 26, 2003 B — Supreme Court of India (S)
• SC (2025) Vol.1 p.1454 — Supreme Court of India (2025)
• RAJBIR SINGH v. STATE OF U.P — Supreme Court of India (2006)

Old <-> New Code Mapping

• IPC §301 — Culpable homicide by causing death of person other than person whose death was intended