Section 221 - Culpable homicide punishable with death.

Except in the circumstances mentioned in section 222 of this Penal Code, culpable homicide shall be punished with death-

(a) if the act by which the death is caused is done with the intention of causing death; or

(b) if the doer of the act knew or had reason to know that death would be the probable and not only a likely consequence of the act or of any bodily injury which the act was intended to cause.

Explanation

Whether death was the probable or only a likely consequence of an act or of any bodily injury, is a question of fact.

Illustration

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(a) In illustrations (a) and (b) to section 20, if A's act is done with the intention of causing death the offence is culpable homicide punishable with death. If it is done with the knowledge that death is likely to be thereby caused, the offence mayor may not be punishable with death according to whether death was the probable consequence or only a likely consequence of A's act.

(b) A, knowing that Z is labouring under such a disease that a blow would probably cause his death, strikes him with the intention of causing bodily injury. Z dies in consequence of the blow. A is guilty of culpable homicide punishable with death, although the blow might not have been sufficient to cause the death of a person in a sound state of health. But if A, not knowing that Z is labouring under any disease, gives him such a blow as would not ordinarily kill a person in a sound state of health, here A is not guilty of culpable homicide punishable with death unless he intended to cause death or such bodily injury as would probably cause death.

(c) A fires a loaded cannon into a crowd of persons and kills one of them. A is guilty of culpable homicide punishable with death, although he may not have had a premeditated design to kill any particular individual.