# Arwal Resident v. State of Bihar and Ors.

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1986-0001](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1986-0001)

## Report card

By judgment dated 19 December 1986 in Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 369 of 1986, the Supreme Court of India returned findings adverse to the Superintendent of Police, Bihar Police, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 20,000.

- Register number: BR 56 CW 0001
- Case reference: Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 369 of 1986 / (1987) 1 SCC 265; AIR 1987 SC 355
- Court and date: Supreme Court of India, 19 December 1986
- Officer(s) at the material time: Superintendent of Police, Bihar Police
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Article 32 of the Constitution of India
- Finding of the Court (extract): “for every case of death compensation of Rupees twenty thousand and for every injured person compensation of Rupees five thousand shall be paid.” (at para n/a)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 20,000.
- Present status of the proceedings: No further proceedings are recorded in the cited sources; the judgment is the concluded position shown.
- Source orders: [Judgment / order (primary source)](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/273558/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1986-0001)

**Record:** CW-1986-0001 (compiler id CWC-0344); case SUPREM-029
**Title:** Arwal Resident v. State of Bihar and Ors.
**Court:** Supreme Court of India
**Case number / citation:** Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 369 of 1986 / (1987) 1 SCC 265; AIR 1987 SC 355
**Judgment:** 1986-12-19 (1986, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1986-04-19 (1986)
**Place:** Arwal, Bihar (district at time: Gaya); city town: Arwal; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** disproportionate force
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Sections:** Constitution Art. 32
**Officers (gated display forms):** Superintendent of Police, Bihar Police (1 in record)
**Victims:** Not stated (21 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 20,000
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The Supreme Court directed Bihar to pay Rs 20,000 for every death and Rs 5,000 for every injured person from the 19 April 1986 Arwal police firing, adjusting sums already paid, in a petition alleging the SP-led force surrounded 600-700 peaceful peasants at Gandhi Library and opened fire without warning, killing at least 21 including children. The Court treated such compensation as the ordinary consequence of police-firing deaths, raising the State Rs 10,000 ex gratia to the normal scale. It left the justification for the firing and the challenge to Arwal PS Case 59 of 1986 allegedly foisted on innocents including the dead to the pending Patna High Court writ. It also directed the pending police-case investigation to finish within three months.

> for every case of death compensation of Rupees twenty thousand and for every injured person compensation of Rupees five thousand shall be paid.

**Sources (2):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/273558/); [pub-138b930c26524cb4bf6e9099898947c0.r2.dev](https://pub-138b930c26524cb4bf6e9099898947c0.r2.dev/judgments/1986/Peoples__Union_For_Democratic_Rights_vs_State_Of_Bihar_Ors_on_19_December_1986.PDF)
**Verification:** V2 · Externally reported
**Review:** Solo Staff combined review (one combined attestation) — not yet recorded
**admin category:** brutality
**admin subcategory:** disproportionate_force
**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'}
**anonymised:** False
**court quote para:** n/a
**display title redacted:** Arwal Resident v. State of Bihar and Ors.
**followup history:** {'date': '2026-09-19', 'scope': 'Round-8 full re-verification: published record re-checked against the judgment text (outcome, officers, quote, key facts) plus methodology-compliance pass', 'method': 'skills-guided adversarial re-verification of the published record against the judgment text (reverify/t1-*/adversarial-8.jsonl)', 'result': 'holds', 'corrections_applied': \[\]}
**followup status:** checked
**institutional response:** {'date': '1986-12-19', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Supreme Court of India', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Supreme Court of India recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 20,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': '(1987) 1 SCC 265; AIR 1987 SC 355', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/273558/', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://pub-138b930c26524cb4bf6e9099898947c0.r2.dev/judgments/1986/Peoples__Union_For_Democratic_Rights_vs_State_Of_Bihar_Ors_on_19_December_1986.PDF', 'link_checked': None}
**retracted:** {"is_retracted": false}
**service:** police
**source assessment:** {"established": null, "basis": null}
**status:** current
**subcategory display:** disproportionate force
**tier:** Tier A — Externally reported or officially recorded
**tier badge:** Externally reported
**tier history:** Tier A — Externally reported or officially recorded
**verdict:** accept
**verdict note:** Rs 20k per death + Rs 5k per injury for Arwal police firing; justification left to Patna HC.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-1986-0001](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1986-0001)