12 Jan 1990
Order issued
ConcludedThe Supreme Court of India entered convictions against police personnel in this judgment.
Conviction · Supports allegation.
Source: AIR 1990 SC 709; 1990 Supp SCC 656
Not yet re-checked.
CW-1990-0001Sultanpur, Uttar PradeshJudgment 12 January 1990
Kurebhar Police Sub-Inspector v. State of U.P.
The judgment of the Supreme Court of India records the following account. A Kurebhar man was arrested from his residence on 19 October 1971 and beaten inside PS Kure Bhar by Sub-Inspector Rafiuddin Khan, sustaining 28 injuries before dying of shock and haemorrhage on 20 October 1971, after which false General Diary entries were posted to cover up the custodial death. The Special Judge, Sultanpur convicted the Sub-Inspector under Sections 304 Part II, 330, 201, 218/34 and 161 IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act, and Head Moharrir Gauri Shankar Sharma under Sections 201 and 218 IPC. The High Court acquitted the Sub-Inspector entirely while confirming the Moharrir with a reduced sentence. The Supreme Court dismissed the Moharrir's appeal and allowed the State's appeal, restoring the Sub-Inspector's conviction and sentence on all counts and directing his surrender, famously observing that death in police custody must be curbed with a heavy hand.
Externally reportedV2
What this record means
This page documents a court-adjudicated case from the judgment and cited sources below. Findings are attributed to the court; this record does not add findings of its own.
How verification works →Detailed record
Report card
By judgment dated 12 January 1990 in Criminal Appeal Nos. 111 and 477 of 1979, the Supreme Court of India (Coram: A.M. Ahmadi, M. Fathima Beevi, JJ.) recorded the conviction of 2 police personnel, namely: Rafiuddin Khan (Sub-Inspector); Gauri Shankar Sharma (Head Moharrir).
- Register number
- UP 44 CW 0001
- Case reference
- Criminal Appeal Nos. 111 and 477 of 1979 / AIR 1990 SC 709; 1990 Supp SCC 656
- Court and date
- Supreme Court of India (Coram: A.M. Ahmadi, M. Fathima Beevi, JJ.), 12 January 1990
- Officer(s) at the material time
- Rafiuddin Khan (Sub-Inspector); Gauri Shankar Sharma (Head Moharrir)
- Present service status
- Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked
- Section 304 Part II of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 330 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 218 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 161 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 5(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947; Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947
- Finding of the Court (extract)
- “Death in police custody must be seriously viewed for otherwise we will help take a stride in the direction of police raj. It must be curbed with a heavy hand.” (at para n/a)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum
- Conviction entered by Supreme Court. Sentence: imprisonment; maximum substantive term of 7.0 years.
- Present status of the proceedings
- No further proceedings are recorded in the cited sources; the judgment is the concluded position shown.
Compiled from the judgment and the cited sources. Findings are those of the court; this card adds none of its own.
Current position
The Supreme Court of India judgment dated 12 January 1990 is the concluded position shown in the cited sources.
Evidence position
Recorded allegations
Custodial deathPrimary
Material fact supported
Reliable material supports a specifically documented fact relevant to that allegation, not necessarily the full allegation, causation, intent, unlawfulness, or responsibility.
Official finding: supports allegation.
Attributed to the court
What the court found
Holding not recorded separately.
“Death in police custody must be seriously viewed for otherwise we will help take a stride in the direction of police raj. It must be curbed with a heavy hand.” (para n/a)
Separate from verification
Institutional response
Continuing record
Follow-up history
19 Sep 2026
(Round-8 full re-verification: published record re-checked against the judgment text (outcome, officers, quote, key facts) plus methodology-compliance pass; skills-guided adversarial re-verification of the published record against the judgment text (reverify/t1-*/adversarial-8.jsonl))
Corrections (0): No corrections recorded.
Review: Solo Staff combined review (one combined attestation) — not yet recorded.