Spousal homicide is a complex crime involving a criminal and victim that are connected not only by crime but also emotional threads. The problem of intimate killings is linked with the power dynamics between genders. Such killings are different from those crimes of passion that are committed by strangers because in the spouse killing, the relationship between the victim and killer is built on a long and close family relations. The central focus in spousal homicide is the element of motive which can arise from allegations of partner’s straying or which can arise from allegations of a partner’s straying. Under Indian criminal law, which has been traditionally guided by the Indian Penal Code 1860 (IPC) and now transitioning to Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (BNS), courts are tasked with the precarious responsibility of distinguishing between pre-panned murder and acts of passion stemming from an overwhelming loss of self-control. This paper attempts to critically examine the evidence and substantive role of the element of motive in the context of spousal homicides, and the various ways Indian courts have interpreted the concept of provocation in the wake of accusations of marital unfaithfulness. The paper further attempts to analyse the statutory distinction between Murder ( IPC Section 300 / BNS Section 101 ) and Culpable Homicide not amounting to Murder ( IPC Section 299 / BNS 100 ) through the less of exception 1 (grave and sudden provocation). A gendered analysis of the differing criminal justice responses to male-initiated homicides on the grounds of marital unfaithfulness and female-initiated homicides on the grounds of battered woman syndrome is undertaken. More over the paper aims to critically evaluate the Joseph Shine jurisprudence, as wells as recommend potential statutory amendments under the new criminal law framework for a more equitable adjudication of crimes of passion in light of the newly transitioned BNS.