{
 "record_id": "CW-2025-0075",
 "status": "current",
 "merged_id": "CWC-1378",
 "alias_merged_ids": [],
 "display_title": "Sonitpur Man vs The State of Assam and Ors",
 "display_title_redacted": "Sonitpur Man vs The State of Assam and Ors",
 "state": "Assam",
 "district": "Sonitpur",
 "district_at_time": null,
 "city_town": null,
 "police_station_or_unit": "Mahabhairab police outpost, Tezpur",
 "court": "The Gauhati High Court",
 "court_as_verified": "The Gauhati High Court",
 "bench": null,
 "case_title": "Sonitpur Man vs The State of Assam and Ors",
 "case_number": "WP(C)/6349/2017",
 "citation": "2025:GAU-AS:711",
 "judges": [
  "Kardak Ete"
 ],
 "judgment_date": "2025-01-23",
 "date_precision": "day",
 "judgment_year": 2025,
 "incident_date": "2017-04-20",
 "incident_year": 2017,
 "category": "Other",
 "admin_category": "brutality",
 "admin_subcategory": "disproportionate_force",
 "subcategory": "disproportionate_force",
 "subcategory_display": "disproportionate force",
 "protest_override_heuristic": false,
 "outcome_type": "adverse_finding_compensation",
 "sections": [],
 "officers": [
  {
   "name": null,
   "rank": "police personnel",
   "role": "held_liable",
   "unit": "Mahabhairab police outpost / Assam Police, Tezpur",
   "publish_grade": "unnamed",
   "name_public": null,
   "display": "police personnel, Mahabhairab police outpost / Assam Police, Tezpur"
  }
 ],
 "officer_count": 1,
 "victims": [
  {
   "name": null,
   "gender": "male",
   "descriptor": "Sonitpur man"
  }
 ],
 "victims_redacted": null,
 "anonymised": false,
 "victim_count": 1,
 "sentence_type": "compensation_only",
 "sentence_max_years": null,
 "compensation_inr": 500000,
 "force": "state_police",
 "primary_source_url": "https://indiankanoon.org/doc/71316095/",
 "secondary_sources": [],
 "summary": "The High Court held that the petitioner, a bystander near a road-accident protest site, suffered a bullet injury when the police opened fire. The High Court held that the firing was done without warning or superior orders and amounted to gross state violence. The High Court directed the respondent authorities to pay Rs.5,00,000 compensation in exercise of public-law jurisdiction. The High Court made clear the award was in addition to any other legal remedy available to the petitioner.",
 "summary_verified": "The High Court held that the petitioner, a bystander near a road-accident protest site, suffered a bullet injury when the police opened fire. The High Court held that the firing was done without warning or superior orders and amounted to gross state violence. The High Court directed the respondent authorities to pay Rs.5,00,000 compensation in exercise of public-law jurisdiction. The High Court made clear the award was in addition to any other legal remedy available to the petitioner.",
 "court_quote": "I am inclined to direct that petitionerbe paid an amount of Rs. 5,00,000/- (Rupees five lakhs) only as compensation.",
 "court_quote_para": "Para 24",
 "confidence": "medium",
 "verdict": "accept",
 "verdict_note": "Verified against the cited judgment.",
 "verification_status": "V2",
 "verification_badge": "V2 · Externally reported",
 "tier_badge": "Externally reported",
 "tier": "Tier A — Externally reported or officially recorded",
 "tier_history": [
  "Tier A — Externally reported or officially recorded"
 ],
 "allegations": [
  {
   "category": "Other",
   "primary": true,
   "position": "Material fact supported",
   "position_explainer": "Reliable material supports a specifically documented fact relevant to that allegation, not necessarily the full allegation, causation, intent, unlawfulness, or responsibility.",
   "official_finding_relation": "supports allegation"
  }
 ],
 "institutional_response": [
  {
   "date": "2025-01-23",
   "action_type": "Order issued",
   "status": "Concluded",
   "authority": "The Gauhati High Court",
   "independence": "External",
   "legal_effect": "Binding",
   "description": "The The Gauhati High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel.",
   "disposition": "adverse finding compensation",
   "source": "2025:GAU-AS:711",
   "recheck": "Not yet re-checked."
  }
 ],
 "later_proceedings": [],
 "final_outcome_url": null,
 "followup_history": [
  {
   "date": "2026-09-24",
   "scope": "Swarm scout and independent verification pass (Muse Spark)."
  }
 ],
 "followup_status": "checked",
 "last_checked": "2026-09-24",
 "link_checked_per_url": [
  {
   "url": "https://indiankanoon.org/doc/71316095/",
   "link_checked": null
  }
 ],
 "source_assessment": {
  "established": null,
  "basis": null
 },
 "v3_basis": null,
 "publication_basis": null,
 "reviews": [],
 "retracted": {
  "is_retracted": false
 },
 "fidelity_checked": false,
 "verified_by": [
  "swarm-verify-cop-as-hc"
 ],
 "merged_case_id": "cop-as-hc-1",
 "officers_named_public": 0,
 "record_flag": null,
 "service": "police",
 "watch": "babuwatch"
}