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4. The offence of culpable homicide is defined by Section 299. It reads:

"299. Culpable Homicide.
Whoever causes death by doing an act with the intention of causing death, or with the intention of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death, or with the knowledge that he is likely by such act to cause death, commits offence of culpable homicide."

The offence involves the doing of an act (which term includes illegal omissions) (a) with the intention of causing death or (b) with the intention of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death or (c) with the knowledge that the act is likely to cause death. If death is caused in any of these three circumstances, the offence of culpable homicide is said to be committed. The existence of the three circumstances (a), (b) and (c) distinguishes homicide which is culpable from homicides which are lesser offences or which are excusable altogether. Intent and knowledge in the ingredients of the section postulate the existence of a positive mental attitude and this mental condition is the special mens rea necessary for the offence. The guilty intention in the first two conditions contemplates the intended death of the person harmed or the intentional causing of an injury likely to cause his death. The knowledge in the third condition contemplates knowledge of the likelihood of the death of the person.

"300. Murder.
Except in the eases hereinafter excepted culpable homicide is murder, if the act by which the death is caused is done with the intention of causing, death, or--
2ndly.-- If it is done with the intention of causing such bodily injury as the offender knows to be likely to cause the death of the person to whom the harm is caused, or--
3rdly.-- If it is done with the intention of causing bodily injury to any person and the bodily injury intended to be inflicted is sufficient in the ordinary course of nature to cause death, or--
4thly.-- If the person committing the act knows that it is so imminently dangerous that it must, in all probability, cause death, or such bodily injury as is likely to cause death, and commits such act without any excuse for incurring the risk of causing death or such injury as aforesaid."

Taking the four clauses one by one we find that under the first clause of Section 300 culpable homicide is murder when the act by which death is caused is done with the intention of causing death. This clause reproduces the first part of Section 299. An intentional killing is always murder unless it comes within one of the special exceptions in Section 300. If an exception applies, it is culpable homicide not amounting to murder. It is the presence of a special exception in a given case which reduces the offence of murder to culpable homicide not amounting to murder when the act by which death is caused is done with the intention of causing death.

10. Our attention was drawn to a decision of the Gujarat High Court reported in Oswal Danji Tejsi v. State, . The accused there were convicted under Section 325 read with Section 34, Indian Penal Code. In that case twenty one injuries were caused on the person of the victim of which only two injuries, which were caused with an iron-ringed stick, were fatal. There were three accused and only one such stick. The learned Judges observed:

"......Having regard to the paucity of the number of fatal injuries, it would not be proper to say the three accused persons were necessarily actuated with an intention of causing death of Rana....".