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Once an offence is caused in any of the three stated manners noted-above, it would be culpable homicide. Section 300, however, deals with murder although there is no clear definition of murder in Section 300 of the Code. As has been repeatedly held by this Court, culpable homicide is the genus and murder is http://www.judis.nic.in  Crl.A.Nos.321 & 861 of 2018 its species and all murders are culpable homicides but all culpable homicides are not murders.

12.In the scheme of the penal Code, culpable homicide is genus and murder its species. All murder is culpable homicide but not vice-versa. Speaking generally, culpable homicide not amounting to murder. For the purpose of fixing punishment, proportionate to the gravity of this generic offence, the Code practically recognises three degrees of culpable homicide. The first is, what may be called culpable homicide of the first degree. This is the greatest form of culpable homicide, which is defined in Section 300 as murder. The second may be termed as culpable homicide of the second degree. This is punishable under the first part of Section 304. Then, there is culpable homicide of the third degree. This is the lowest type of culpable homicide and the punishment provided for it is, also, the lowest among the punishments provided for the three grades. Culpable homicide of this degree is punishable under the second part of Section 304.

14.Section 300 of the Code proceeds with reference to Section 299 of the Code. Culpable homicide may or may not amount to murder, in terms of Section 300 of the Code. When a culpable homicide is murder, the punitive consequences shall follow in terms of Section 302 of the Code while in other cases, http://www.judis.nic.in  Crl.A.Nos.321 & 861 of 2018 that is, where an offence is culpable homicide not amounting to murder, punishment would be dealt with under Section 304 of the Code. Various judgments of this Court have dealt with the cases which fall in various classes of firstly, secondly, thirdly and fourthly, respectively, stated under Section 300 of the Code. It would not be necessary for us to deal with that aspect of the case in any further detail. Of course, the principles that have been stated in various judgments like Abdul Waheed Khan @ Waheed and Others v. State of A.P. [(2002) 7 SCC 175], Virsa Singh v. State of Punjab [AIR 1958 SC 465] and Rajwant and Anr. v. State of Kerala [AIR 1966 SC 1874] are the broad guidelines and not cast-iron imperatives. These are the cases which would provide precepts for the courts to exercise their judicial discretion while considering the cases to determine as to which particular clause of Section 300 of the Code they fall in.

20.In Ajit Singh v. State of Punjab [(2011) 9 SCC 462], the Court held that (SCC p.468, para 20) “20.In order to hold whether an offence would fall under Section 302 or Section 304 Part I of the Code, the courts have to be extremely cautious in examining whether the same falls under Section 300 of the Code which states whether a culpable homicide is murder, or would it fall under its five exceptions which lay down when culpable homicide is not murder....” In other words, Section 300 states both, what is murder and what is not. First finds place in Section 300 in its four stated categories, while the second finds detailed mention in the stated five exceptions to Section 300. The legislature in its wisdom, thus, covered the entire gamut of culpable homicide that amounting to murder as well as that not amounting to murder in a composite manner in Section 300 of the Code.