# Agartala Man vs State of Tripura

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## Report card

By judgment dated 10 January 1992 in F.A. No. 5 of 1983 (from Money Suit No. 6 of 1978), the Gauhati High Court (Coram: S.K. Homchaudhuri, N.G. Das, JJ.) returned findings adverse to the Police personnel, Kotwali Police Station, Agartala, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 1 lakh (Rs 1,00,000).

- Register number: TR 01 CW 0001
- Case reference: F.A. No. 5 of 1983 (from Money Suit No. 6 of 1978) / 1993 (2) GLR 214; 1994 ACJ 858
- Court and date: Gauhati High Court (Coram: S.K. Homchaudhuri, N.G. Das, JJ.), 10 January 1992
- Officer(s) at the material time: Police personnel, Kotwali Police Station, Agartala
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Article 21 of the Constitution of India; Article 300 of the Constitution of India
- Finding of the Court (extract): “In the instant case the claim for damages has arisen due to deprivation of life of the son of the plaintiff in the police custody due to gross negligence of the State machinery and the deceased has been deprived of …” (at para 8)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 1 lakh (Rs 1,00,000).
- 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/134538/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1992-0009)

**Record:** CW-1992-0009 (compiler id CWC-0930); case GAP2-41-002
**Title:** Agartala Man vs State of Tripura
**Court:** Gauhati High Court; bench: Agartala; judges: S.K. Homchaudhuri; N.G. Das
**Case number / citation:** F.A. No. 5 of 1983 (from Money Suit No. 6 of 1978) / 1993 (2) GLR 214; 1994 ACJ 858
**Judgment:** 1992-01-10 (1992, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1976-04-26 (1976)
**Place:** West Tripura, Tripura; city town: Agartala; police station or unit: Kotwali Police Station, Agartala; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial death
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Sections:** IPC 379; Constitution Art. 21; Constitution Art. 300
**Officers (gated display forms):** Police personnel, Kotwali Police Station, Agartala
**Victims:** Agartala man, age 18 (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 1 lakh (Rs 1,00,000)
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The Gauhati High Court allowed the first appeal of Ranubala Sutradhar and set aside the trial court's dismissal of her damages suit. The court recorded that her 18-year-old son \[name withheld\], arrested for theft on the night of 25.04.1976, was found dead in the Kotwali (Agartala) lock-up on the morning of 26.04.1976. It held the death in custody was attributable to the gross negligence of the Kotwali police officials and that Kasturilal's sovereign-immunity defence could not defeat a damages claim for an Article 21 violation. The suit was decreed for Rs 1 lakh with costs throughout, payable within two months, with 15% p.a. interest on default. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> In the instant case the claim for damages has arisen due to deprivation of life of the son of the plaintiff in the police custody due to gross negligence of the State machinery and the deceased has been deprived of his life in flagrant violation of fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

**Sources (2):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/134538/); [courtkutchehry.com](https://www.courtkutchehry.com/judgements/428376/ranubala-sutradhar-appellant-hash-state-of-tripura-respondent/)
**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:** 8
**display title redacted:** Agartala Man vs State of Tripura
**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': '1992-01-10', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Gauhati High Court', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Gauhati High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 100,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': '1993 (2) GLR 214; 1994 ACJ 858', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/134538/', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.courtkutchehry.com/judgements/428376/ranubala-sutradhar-appellant-hash-state-of-tripura-respondent/', '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:** Mirror text verified: appeal allowed, suit decreed Rs 1L; Division Bench F.A. No. 5/1983 (agent said Single Bench).
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

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