0SPECIFIC ATTEMPTS
Besides impossible attempts, few specific attempts are also provided under IPC, 1860. Such as Attempt to Murder (Section- 307), to culpable homicide (Section 308), Attempt to commit suicide (Section 309).
Attempt to Murder:
Section 307 of the IPC, 1860 provides for the offence of Attempt to Murder. Following requirements must be fulfilled to constitute the offence of Attempt to Murder:
1. Gravity of the offence depends upon intention of the accused to cause death. Along with intention various other factors are considered like nature of the weapon used, injury caused, medical opinion etc.
2. Accused should have actually acted to cause the death of other person.
3. His act must have reached beyond the preparatory stage.
Accused shot a person from nearby quarters causing injuries on the abdomen and left arm. It was held that from these circumstances, the knowledge that the injury caused by him would result in death could be imputed to the accused. The accused was held liable and convicted under section 307 of the IPC, 1860 .
Accused made his wife starve for many days which lead to deteriorating conditions of his wife’s life. Accused was held liable by the court stating that accused starved her to accelerate her end, though it was not the penultimate act, which if effective, would cause death .
Attempt to Culpable homicide (Section 308 of IPC):
If the person does any act with intention or knowledge and with that act he causes death of the other, he would be guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
Illustration: A, on grave and sudden provocation, fires a pistol at Z, under such circumstances that if he thereby caused death he would be guilty of Culpable Homicide not amounting to murder. A has committed this offence.
Attempt to commit Suicide:
There has been a long time debate whether to decriminalise it or not. There are types of approaches regarding it:
1. If the person is victim of the circumstances, then he should not be treated as an offender because he needs care and protection, counselling and not the punishment giving punishment in such cases would aggravate those circumstances.
2. It its decriminalised then people could misuse that provision.
Constituting components of Section 309IPC, 1860:
i. Accused must have formed an intention to end his life.
ii. He should have taken any step towards it.
iii. It should be more than mere preparation or he should have reached beyond preparatory stage.
It is deliberate act of the accused to cease his life. If any person is forced to do so due to any illegal act of the others then it does not remain the deliberate act and the person would be guilty under Section 309.
Constitutional validity of Section 309 IPC, 1860
Section 309 was declared as unconstitutional and an irrational provision and violative of Article 21 of the Constitution of India .
P. Rathinam dictum was reversed and a SC constitutional bench upheld the constitutional validity of Section 309 and indicated that it did not violate Article 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution .
Hunger strike
The essential requirement to kill oneself is absent in hunger strike. It’s done for improvement, advancement or amelioration of some situation. Thus, only in cases where accused intends to preserve to the end, refuses all nourishment and reaches such a stage that there is imminent danger of death, only he can be held guilty under section 309 of the IPC, 1860.
