# Koilkuntla Man and Others vs State of Andhra Pradesh

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1989-0003](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1989-0003)

## Report card

By judgment dated 17 February 1989, the Andhra Pradesh High Court (Coram: Jeevan Reddy, Bhaskar Rao, JJ.) returned findings adverse to the accused police personnel, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 1.4 lakh (Rs 1,44,000).

- Register number: AP 39 CW 0006
- Case reference: AIR 1989 AP 235
- Court and date: Andhra Pradesh High Court (Coram: Jeevan Reddy, Bhaskar Rao, JJ.), 17 February 1989
- Officer(s) at the material time: Not identified in the cited sources (Koilkuntla Sub-Jail guard, Kurnool)
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Not stated in the cited sources
- Finding of the Court (extract): “the negligence on the part of the police officials in failing to provide adequate guard to protect the life of the deceased”
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 1.4 lakh (Rs 1,44,000).
- 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/98578/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1989-0003)

**Record:** CW-1989-0003 (compiler id CWC-0075); case GAP15-001
**Title:** Koilkuntla Man and Others vs State of Andhra Pradesh
**Court:** Andhra Pradesh High Court; judges: Jeevan Reddy; Bhaskar Rao
**Case number / citation:** AIR 1989 AP 235
**Judgment:** 1989-02-17 (1989, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1977-05-06 (1977)
**Place:** Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh; city town: Koilkuntla; police station or unit: Koilkuntla Sub-Jail guard, Kurnool; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial death
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Officers (gated display forms):** None named (0 in record)
**Victims:** Koilkuntla man; Koilkuntla man (2 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 1.4 lakh (Rs 1,44,000)
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court records the following account. The deceased and his son, accused in a 1977 Owk PS case, were lodged in Cell No.7 of Koilkuntla Sub-Jail; on the night of 5-6 May 1977 miscreants entered the jail and hurled bombs into the cell, killing the father while the son escaped with injuries. The family pleaded the deceased had warned authorities of danger to his life and the guards were callously negligent; the State denied negligence and claimed sovereign immunity. The Division Bench reversed the trial court's dismissal, held the police officials negligent in failing to provide adequate guard, rejected sovereign immunity as incompatible with Article 21, and decreed Rs.1,44,000 with interest against the State. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> the negligence on the part of the police officials in failing to provide adequate guard to protect the life of the deceased

**Sources (1):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/98578/)
**Verification:** V2 · Externally reported
**Review:** Solo Staff combined review (one combined attestation) — not yet recorded
**admin category:** misconduct
**admin subcategory:** custodial_death
**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
**display title redacted:** Koilkuntla Man and Others vs State of Andhra Pradesh
**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': '1989-02-17', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Andhra Pradesh High Court', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Andhra Pradesh High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 144,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': 'AIR 1989 AP 235', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/98578/', 'link_checked': None}
**retracted:** {"is_retracted": false}
**service:** police
**source assessment:** {"established": null, "basis": null}
**status:** current
**subcategory display:** custodial death
**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:** DB judgment verified; Rs 1,44,000 for undertrial murdered in sub-jail under negligent police guard.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-1989-0003](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1989-0003)