HP High Court: Accidental Shooting Mistaken for Wild Animal Merits Bail; Not Murder

The Himachal Pradesh High Court granted regular bail to a man accused of murder under Section 103 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), observing that his act was an accidental shooting committed under a mistaken belief that the victim was a wild animal. The FIR also invoked charges under Section 238 (causing disappearance of evidence or giving false information) read with Section 3(5) common intention, along with Arms Act provisions. According to the prosecution, the accused and others went into the forest with guns; the deceased went ahead and hid in bushes; the accused mistook him for a wild animal and fired. Live Law The post-mortem showed multiple gunshot wounds. Even so, Justice Rakesh Kainthla held that the facts don’t show intention to kill (required for murder), but rather negligence—covered under Section 106 BNS, which is bailable. The Court found that even accepting prosecution’s version, it wouldn’t amount to murder, and regular bail was thus justified.