BNS Section 102

Section 102 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, deals with culpable homicide where the death of a person other than the intended victim is caused.
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.

Example:
Vijay, with the knowledge that it is likely to cause death, disabled the brakes of Rakesh’s car. While driving, Rakesh's wife met with an accident as a result of this and died. Vijay has committed the offence of culpable homicide under Section 102 BNS.

Key Points in BNS-102
 

1. Transferred Malice Concept:
    

   • Intention or Knowledge: If a person commits an act with the intention to cause death or knowing that the act is likely to cause death, they are held responsible for the outcome, even if the person who dies is not the one they intended to harm.
      

   • This principle is known as transferred malice, where the intention to harm one person applies to the unintended victim.
      

2. Culpable Homicide by Unexpected Victim:
    

   • Unintended Victim's Death: Even if the person who dies was not the intended target, the offender is liable for culpable homicide as if the victim were the person they intended to harm or knew would likely be harmed.
      

3. Same Liability:
    

   • The offender is punished as though the death of the unintended victim was the intended result. The nature of the crime (culpable homicide) does not change, and the intent or knowledge is transferred to the actual victim.
      

4. Examples:
    

   • If a person aims to harm or kill someone but accidentally kills another person, the act is treated as though the offender caused the death of the intended target.
      

Summary

BNS-102 outlines the principle of transferred malice in cases of culpable homicide. If a person causes the death of someone other than their intended victim, they are held responsible for the death in the same manner as if the intended person had died. The liability for culpable homicide is not diminished by the fact that the actual victim was not the intended target.

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