Section 105 sets the punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder, in two tiers. Where the act causing death was done with intention of causing death, or of causing bodily injury likely to cause death, punishment is imprisonment for life, or imprisonment of either description of not less than five years, extending to ten years, and fine. Where the act was done only with knowledge that it was likely to cause death, without any such intention, punishment is imprisonment of either description up to ten years, and fine.
Verified against the National Crime Records Bureau's official BNS–IPC concordance (Sankalan Portal), which maps Section 105 to old IPC Section 304 and itself flags the mapping as "(Change)," and cross-checked directly against the bare text of both Acts.
| BNS section | IPC, 1860 equivalent | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 105 | 304 | Substantively changed |
Comparing the two texts word for word, two differences were found. First, the intention-based tier (death, or bodily injury likely to cause death) now carries an express mandatory minimum of five years' imprisonment where the fixed-term alternative applies; old IPC Section 304's equivalent tier stated no minimum, only imprisonment for life or a term extending to ten years. Second, in the knowledge-based tier (knowledge of likelihood of death, without intention), fine is now mandatory ("and with fine"); old IPC Section 304's equivalent tier made fine one of several alternatives ("or with fine, or with both").
Whoever commits culpable homicide not amounting to murder, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than five years but which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine, if the act by which the death is caused is done with the intention of causing death, or of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death; or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years and with fine, if the act is done with the knowledge that it is likely to cause death, but without any intention to cause death, or to cause such bodily injury as is likely to cause death.
Source: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023), as published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.
Section 105 punishes culpable homicide that does not amount to murder — either because it does not meet any of Section 101's conditions, or because it falls within one of Section 101's five Exceptions. The section sets two punishment tiers based on the offender's state of mind. The higher tier applies where the act was done with the intention of causing death, or of causing bodily injury likely to cause death: imprisonment for life, or a fixed term of not less than five years, extending to ten years, with fine. The lower tier applies where the act was done only with knowledge that it was likely to cause death, without any intention to cause death or such injury: imprisonment up to ten years, with fine mandatory.
These judgment(s) relate to Section 105 as a whole rather than to one specific sub-section, and so are presented together here rather than alongside a particular clause above.
During a night-time altercation, the accused stabbed the victim with a knife, inflicting a stomach wound; the victim was treated, discharged, then readmitted and died thirteen days later of septicaemia arising from the wound. The trial court and High Court convicted the accused of murder. The Supreme Court converted the conviction to culpable homicide not amounting to murder (old IPC S.304 Part I), holding that while the accused could be attributed knowledge that the knife injury was likely to cause death, the surrounding facts — a sudden altercation, impulse and self-provocation, no premeditation, and a delayed death from septic complications rather than the wound itself — showed the act was done with knowledge but without the intention to cause death, which is the dividing line between murder and this lesser offence.
Currency check: decided November 2025; applies settled authority (Virsa Singh v. State of Punjab, AIR 1958 SC 465; Kesar Singh v. State of Haryana, (2008) 15 SCC 753) that remains good law; carries over directly to BNS Section 105, which reproduces old IPC Section 304 without substantive change; no overruling found in this review.
The higher tier applies where the offender intended to cause death, or bodily injury likely to cause death. The lower tier applies where the offender only knew death was likely, without any such intention.
No. Where a fixed term (rather than imprisonment for life) is imposed under the higher, intention-based tier, it cannot be less than five years, and may extend to ten years.
The two tiers are worded differently. The higher tier says the offender “shall also be liable to fine”; the lower tier says “and with fine.” The BNSS First Schedule lists “and fine” for both.