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30. This question was answered in a case involving almost similar facts before the Apex Court in the case of "Rita Devi Vs. New India Assurance Co. Ltd." (supra), wherein the Apex Court has drawn a distinction between a murder which is not an accident and a murder which is a result of an accident. The Apex Court has laid down the test that if the dominant intention is to kill a particular person then such killing is not an accidental murder but a murder simpliciter. However, if the cause of murder or the act of murder was originally not intended and the same was caused in the furtherance of an felonious act, then such murder is an accidental.

31. In the case of "Rita Devi Vs. New India Assurance Co.

Ltd."(supra), the Apex Court has observed as follows:-

"10. The question, therefore is, can a murder be an accident in any given case? There is no doubt that "murder", as it is understood, in the common parlance is a felonious act where death is caused with intent and the perpetrators of that act normally have a motive against the victim for such killing. But there are also instances where murder can be by accident on a given set of facts. The difference between a "murder" which is not an accident and a "murder" which is an accident, MFA. No. 74/2021 Page 15 depends on the proximity of the cause of such murder. In our opinion, if the dominant intention of the act of felony is to kill any particular person then such killing is not an accidental murder but is a murder simpliciter, while if the cause of murder or act of murder was originally not intended and the same was caused in furtherance of any other felonious act then such murder is an accidental murder."

                              "1. Whether      death   of    the    deceased
                       Mohammed        Sultan    was    due    to    murder




MFA. No. 74/2021                                                          Page 24

simpliciter or accidental murder is the intricate question raised in this appeal. xxx xxxxxx 9.2 The basic parameter/principle to be considered in order to decide whether it is a case of murder simpliciter or accidental murder has been given in the following decisions.

i) 2000 SAR Civil 573 SC (Smt. Rita Devi v. New India Assurance Company Limited).

ii) (2009) 2 TN M.A.C. Page 399 (Gujarat High Court at Ahmedabad) (National Insurance Company Ltd. v. GitabenSaitansinh Rajput Page 405).

According to the decisions, if the dominant intention of the crime is to kill the deceased, then the killing is a murder simpliciter, but if the murder was not originally intended but, if the murder had been caused in furtherance of any other crime or if the murder is consequential to some other crime, then it can be considered to be an accidental murder.