Answer By law4u team
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 - Section 102: Culpable homicide by causing death of person other than person whose death was intended.
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.
Brief Detail
Section 102 of the BNS Code addresses the scenario where an individual, intending or knowing that their actions are likely to cause death, accidentally causes the death of someone other than their intended target. The section specifies that the culpability of the offense remains the same as if the intended person had been killed instead. This means that the nature of the culpable homicide is judged based on the original intent or knowledge of the offender, regardless of the actual victim.
Question & Answers
Q1: What does Section 102 of the BNS Code cover?
A1: Section 102 of the BNS Code deals with culpable homicide where a person, by intending or knowing their actions are likely to cause death, causes the death of someone other than the intended victim. It dictates that the culpability of the offense is determined as if the intended person had been killed.
Q2: How does Section 102 determine the nature of culpable homicide?
A2: The nature of culpable homicide under Section 102 is determined based on the offender's original intent or knowledge of the likelihood of causing death, not on the actual victim.
Q3: What happens if a person causes the death of an unintended victim?
A3: If a person causes the death of an unintended victim, the culpable homicide is assessed as if the offender had caused the death of the intended victim.
Example
Example 1:
A person plans to harm individual A but accidentally causes the death of individual B instead. According to Section 102, the culpable homicide committed by the person is judged based on the intent to kill individual A, not B.
Example 2:
If a person sets out with the intention to kill C but mistakenly kills D, the nature of the culpable homicide is assessed as if the offender had killed C, considering the offender’s original intent.
Summary
Section 102 of the BNS Code addresses culpable homicide where the death caused is of someone other than the intended victim. The section ensures that the culpability of the offense is evaluated based on the original intent or knowledge of the offender, maintaining the same level of culpability as if the intended victim had been killed.
