Legal Provisions of Section 308 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Attempt to commit culpable homicide:
This section makes attempt to commit culpable homicide not amounting to murder a punishable offence. It says that whoever does any act with such intention or knowledge and under such circumstances that if the act causes death he would be guilty of the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, shall be punished with simple or rigorous imprisonment for a term extending up to three years, or with fine, or with both; and if the act causes hurt to any person, shall be punished with simple or rigorous imprisonment for a term extending up to seven years, or with fine, or with both.
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In other words, the section requires the presence of the requisite act, the requisite guilty mind in the form of intention or knowledge and the requisite circumstances which would make the doer of the act guilty of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, but the main result, death, must not take place, and these all will together constitute the offence under this section, and for this necessary punishment has been prescribed.
The normal penalty for the offence is comparatively less severe in comparison to the situation where hurt is caused by such act which has been punished quite severely. The section takes within its ambit attempts of cases described under the second and third clauses of section 299 as well as attempts of those under any of the five exceptions of section 300 of the Code.
Where the accused drank very heavily and then stabbed a co-sailor causing him serious injuries and also stabbed an intervener causing his death, it was held that even though because of the heavy drinking he could not be said to have the requisite intent, he could still be presumed to know under section 86 the serious consequences of his act, and, therefore, he was guilty under section 304 Part II for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and under section 308 for its attempt for the death and attempted death respectively.
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Similarly, where the accused in a sudden fit of rage and anger pierced a screw driver which he had in his hand into the chest of an intervener but the force being not very much it could not penetrate the lung and so the victim did not die, it was held that the accused was guilty under this section because had he died of the injury the accused would have been guilty of committing culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
The offence under this section is cognizable, bailable and non-compoundable, and is triable by court of session.