# Delhi Resident v. Police Commissioner, Delhi Police Headquarters

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1989-0004](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1989-0004)

## Report card

By judgment dated 13 January 1989, the Supreme Court of India (Coram: G. L. Oza, K. N. Saikia, JJ.) returned findings adverse to the SHO, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 50,700.

- Register number: DL 00 CW 0005
- Case reference: (1989) 4 SCC 730
- Court and date: Supreme Court of India (Coram: G. L. Oza, K. N. Saikia, JJ.), 13 January 1989
- Officer(s) at the material time: SHO
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Not stated in the cited sources
- Finding of the Court (extract): “It is an unfortunate case where the police collected poor people and took them to the Police Station for doing some work. They were asked to work without labour charges. On demand they were beaten and it appears that one …” (at para 2)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 50,700.
- 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/1600010/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1989-0004)

**Record:** CW-1989-0004 (compiler id CWC-0755); case SWCUSTOD-012
**Title:** Delhi Resident v. Police Commissioner, Delhi Police Headquarters
**Court:** Supreme Court of India; judges: G. L. Oza; K. N. Saikia
**Case number / citation:** (1989) 4 SCC 730
**Judgment:** 1989-01-13 (1989, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1988-01-01 (1988)
**Place:** Delhi; city town: Delhi; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial death
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Officers (gated display forms):** SHO (1 in record)
**Victims:** Delhi resident; Delhi woman; Delhi resident; Delhi resident; Delhi resident; Delhi resident; Delhi resident; Delhi resident; Delhi resident; Delhi resident (10 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 50,700
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The Supreme Court recorded the DCP's frank admission of police atrocity and awarded compensation to ten victims. Delhi Police had collected poor labourers, took them to the police station for unpaid work, and on demand of wages beat them; a Delhi resident succumbed to injuries and his body was disposed of, while the survivor was stripped and thrashed. The court directed Rs 50,000 for the deceased's family (invested via LIC for monthly support), Rs 500 for the survivor and Rs 25 each for the other eight, recoverable from the guilty officers' salaries after show cause. It noted the SHO had been arrested and criminal prosecution was underway, and preserved further lawful compensation claims. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> It is an unfortunate case where the police collected poor people and took them to the Police Station for doing some work. They were asked to work without labour charges. On demand they were beaten and it appears that one of them a Delhi resident succumbed to the injuries and the body has also been disposed of.

**Sources (1):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1600010/)
**Verification:** V2 · Externally reported
**Review:** Solo Staff combined review (one combined attestation) — not yet recorded
**admin category:** brutality
**admin subcategory:** custodial_death
**allegations:** {'category': 'Custodial death', '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:** 2
**display title redacted:** Delhi Resident v. Police Commissioner, Delhi Police Headquarters
**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': \['court_quote_para'\]}
**followup status:** checked
**institutional response:** {'date': '1989-01-13', '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 50,700.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': '(1989) 4 SCC 730', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1600010/', '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:** SC recorded DCP admission of atrocity; compensated 10 victims; SHO arrested.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-1989-0004](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1989-0004)