May 22, 2013

Understanding Criminal Justice (Part 8) Degrees of Murders

Very few layman know that the every murder is a killing, but every killing is not a murder.


A murder of highest degree, under Indian laws is punishable with Life Imprisionment or Death Sentence.

But the word murder itself is categorised under degrees.

For example, a killing made due to sudden provocation by diseased, done on spur of moment, without any premeditation stands on different footing than a well calculated and planned killing.


The different punishments are prescribed for these different degrees of murder.


The point is, every murder is not automatically a murder of highest degree. It is job of defence counsel to make out a case for lower punishment under lower degrees of murder.


Haresh Raichura
22/5/13 08:07