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

Summary

If a person does something intending or knowing it is likely to cause death, and instead of killing the intended person, accidentally kills someone else, the law treats the crime as if the intended person had died. This means the type of culpable homicide is judged based on the original intention or knowledge, not on who actually died.

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 he likely to cause.

Related Judgments

• SHANKARLAL KACHRABHAI AND OTHERS B v. STATE OF GUJARAT S — Supreme Court of India (1965)
• BALWINDER SINGH v. STATE OF PUNJAB NOVEMBER 9, 1995 B — Supreme Court of India (S)
• SC (2025) Vol.1 p.1454 — Supreme Court of India (2025)
• DELHI DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY v. MRS. VIJA YA C. GURSHANEY AND ANR. AUGUST 26, 2003 B — Supreme Court of India (S)
• https://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ vs The Inspector of Police, — Madras High Court (2004)
• .. Appellant vs State rep. By — Madras High Court (2011)
• CRL A(MD)/516/2017 — Madras High Court ()
• CRL A(MD)/376/2017 — Madras High Court ()

Old <-> New Code Mapping

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