Under Section 300 of the IPC, culpable homicide amounts

Solution

Section 300 of the IPC defines murder as culpable homicide with specific intent or knowledge, but provides five exceptions under which culpable homicide does not amount to murder. Exception 1 deals with grave and sudden provocation if the offender, whilst deprived of the power of self-control by grave and sudden provocation, causes death of the person who gave the provocation or by mistake of another person, the offence is reduced to culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The provocation must be both grave (serious in nature) and sudden (no cooling time) a pre-meditated response to provocation does not qualify. The classic illustration is the R v. Govinda (1876) case where the distinction between Sections 299 and 300 was elaborately explained. The other four exceptions under Section 300 are: exceeding the right of private defence (Exception 2), act of a public servant (Exception 3), sudden fight without premeditation (Exception 4), and consent of the deceased (Exception 5). Mere intoxication is not an exception under Section 300 it is dealt with separately under Section 86 of the IPC.