The word “homicide” comes from Latin homo and cido, Homo, means man and Cido means, ‘I cut’, thus—homicide is the causing of death of a human being by a human being, i.e., human death through human agency.
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Natural death is not homicide. Death from an accident such as fall or slip is caused by a human agency. The death of a child in mother’s womb is also not homicide. If any part of the child in the womb has been brought forth, though the child may not have breathed or been completely born, act causing death of such child is homicide (Explanation 3 to Section 299).
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It must not however, be understood from what has been said here that the death of an unborn child may be caused with impunity. Section 316 lays the punishment for act causing such death and Section 315 deals with attempt to cause such death.
What is precisely meant is that the causing of such death may be any offence other than an offence relating to homicide. Now confining our observation to homicide—the killing of a human being by a human being—we find that the law does not punish homicide in certain circumstances and in certain other circumstances it does.