Emperor vs Mt. Dhirajia || AIR 1940 ALL 486 || Case Summary

Emperor vs Mt. Dhirajia

AIR 1940 ALL 486

Case Summary

[Relationship Between Knowledge and Intention to Commit Murder]

Facts

• The appellant, Mt. Dhirajia, a young woman aged 20, was tried for the murder of her six-month-old baby and attempted suicide.

• She was convicted of murder under Section 302 IPC by the Sessions Judge, while the jury acquitted her of the charge of attempted suicide under Section 309 IPC.

• The case arose after a domestic quarrel between Mt. Dhirajia and her husband, Jhagga. Fleeing in fear of his threats, she jumped into a well with her child in her arms. The child died, but she survived.

Issues

1. Whether Mt. Dhirajia had the requisite intention or knowledge to be held guilty of murder under Section 302 IPC.

2. Whether her acquittal for attempted suicide under Section 309 IPC was justified.

Key Legal Provisions

• Section 302 IPC: Punishment for murder. [Section 103(1) of BNS]

• Section 299 IPC: Definition of culpable homicide, requiring an act done with the intention to cause death or with knowledge of its likelihood. [Section 100 of BNS]

• Section 300 IPC: Distinguishes murder from culpable homicide, specifically emphasizing the knowledge of imminently dangerous acts under the fourth clause. [Section 101 of BNS]

• Section 309 IPC: Punishment for attempting suicide. [Removed from BNS]

Judgement

• The High Court analyzed whether Mt. Dhirajia's actions constituted culpable homicide and, if so, whether it qualified as murder.

• The court found:

  • No intention to kill: The act was committed in panic, not with an intent to cause death.

  • Knowledge inferred: Despite her state of fear, as a sane individual, Mt. Dhirajia was deemed to have knowledge that jumping into a well with a baby was likely to cause the baby's death.

  • Therefore, the act amounted to culpable homicide, not murder, as it did not fall within the purview of Section 300 IPC.

• Regarding the charge of attempted suicide, the court found the jury's acquittal inappropriate and upheld that her act of jumping into the well constituted an attempt to commit suicide under Section 309 IPC.