Section 109

Section 109 punishes the attempt to commit murder — with a graduated structure that depends on whether physical harm was actually caused. The section targets the 'dangerousness of the mind' — the offender's intention or knowledge that the act would constitute murder if death resulted — and punishes that state of mind regardless of the outcome. Where no hurt is caused (a missed shot, a failed poisoning), the maximum is 10 years. Where hurt is actually caused to the victim (injuries that fall short of death), the punishment escalates to life imprisonment — recognising that the victim suffered real harm and the offender came extremely close to completing the murder. The mental element required is identical to that of murder itself: the act must be done with such intention or knowledge that if death resulted, it would be murder. This means that all the analysis around murder's four clauses and five exceptions applies equally to attempted murder. A person who, under sudden provocation, stabs someone but the victim survives — that may be an attempt to commit culpable homicide (BNS 110), not an attempt to murder, if the provocation exception would have applied.