Why in News?

Recently, the Supreme Court in the matter of Nirmala Devi v. State of Himachal Pradesh, held that sudden provocation cannot be ruled out.

• The Court held that the case falls under Exception 1 to Section 300 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC).

Background

• In this case, the accused was convicted by the Trial Court for murder of her husband under Section 302 of IPC.
• The accused caused the death of the deceased while being deprived of the power of self-control, due to the provocation on account of the deceased not agreeing to pay Rs. 500 /- to the daughter of the accused.
• An appeal was preferred by the accused before the High Court which was dismissed.
• An appeal was filed before the Apex Court, in which the conviction of the accused was altered from Section 302 of IPC to Part-I of Section 304 of IPC.
• The Supreme Court held that the accused has already been incarcerated for a period of almost 9 years, and, therefore, the sentence already undergone would serve the ends of justice.

Court’s Observation

The Bench of Justices B R Gavai and J B Pardiwala observed that, the possibility of the accused causing the death of the deceased while being deprived of the power of self-control, due to the provocation on account of the deceased not agreeing to pay Rs.500/- to her daughter cannot be ruled out.

Legal Provisions

Section 300 of IPC

• Murder is dealt with in Section 300 of the IPC.
  • Murder is one of the most serious offences and is punished by life in prison or the death sentence.
• Section 300 of the IPC states that a person is guilty of murder if the following factors are present:
  • The Act of Causing Death: The accused must have killed another person.
  • The Purpose to Cause Death: The accused must have had the intent to kill the victim. Alternatively, the accused must have known that their conduct was likely to result in the victim’s death.
  • The Act was Committed with the Knowledge that it would Result in Death: The accused must have been aware that their acts were likely to result in the victim’s death.
• If all three factors are present, the offender might face murder charges.
• If any of these factors are missing, the accused may not be convicted of murder but may be guilty of culpable homicide.
• There are certain exceptions to this rule such as:
  • Culpable homicide is not murder if the offender is deprived of the power of self-control by grave and sudden provocation and causes the death of the person who gave the provocation or causes the death of any other person by mistake or accident. This exception is subject to the following provisos:
    • Provocation is not sought or voluntarily pro­voked by the offender.
    • Provocation is not given by anything done in obedience to the law, or by a public servant in the lawful exer­cise of the powers of such public servant.
    • Provocation is not given by anything done in the lawful exercise of the right of private defence.
  • Culpable homicide is not murder in the exercise of the right to private defence.
  • Culpable homicide is not murder, if it is done by the public servant acting in good faith.
  • Culpable homicide is not murder if it is committed without premeditation in a sudden fight in the heat of passion upon a sudden quarrel.
  • Culpable homicide is not murder when the person whose death is caused, being above the age of eighteen years, suffers death or takes the risk of death with his own consent.

Section 302 of IPC

• This Section states that anyone who commits murder can be punished with the death penalty or life imprisonment and shall also be liable to fine.

Section 304 of IPC

• It can be separated into the following two parts:
  • Section 304(Part I) states that, Whoever commits culpable homicide not amounting to murder shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine, if the act by which the death is caused is done with the intention of causing death, or of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death.
  • Section 304 (Part II) states that, Whoever commits culpable homicide not amounting to murder shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, or with fine, or with both, if the act is done with the knowledge that it is likely to cause death, but without any intention to cause death, or to cause such bodily injury as is likely to cause death.