Section 300

This section, along with its detailed exceptions, distinguishes the most serious form of unlawful killing, murder, from other forms of culpable homicide, based on factors like the offender's degree of intention, provocation, or special circumstances such as self-defence. This distinction affects what punishment applies, since murder under section 302 carries the possibility of the death penalty, while lesser forms carry lighter sentences. Note that this entry reflects the opening clause of the section as recorded here; the full section includes detailed exceptions (such as grave and sudden provocation, exceeding the right of private defence, and sudden fights) that determine when culpable homicide does not amount to murder. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, this offence continues under a renumbered section, preserving the murder/culpable-homicide distinction and its exceptions.

Courts have long treated the relationship between this section and the definition of culpable homicide as the core of Indian homicide law, often explained using a classic distinction: a blow struck on a vital part of the body with a dangerous weapon, with clear intention to cause an injury sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death, points toward murder, while a less severe or less clearly fatal act may fall under lesser culpable homicide instead. Courts have also stressed that whether a case falls under one of the section's exceptions, such as grave and sudden provocation, must be assessed carefully on the specific facts, since it can reduce what would otherwise be murder to a lesser offence.

• Myth: Every act that causes death and was intentional is automatically 'murder' with no exceptions.
  Fact: The law lists specific exceptions, such as grave and sudden provocation or exceeding the right of private defence, under which an intentional killing is treated as a lesser offence than murder.