# Lunavada Man v. State of Gujarat and Others

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1997-0013](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1997-0013)

## Report card

By judgment dated 21 February 1997 in Special Criminal Application (Art. 226), the Gujarat High Court (Coram: N. N. Mathur, J.) returned findings adverse to 5 police personnel, namely: PSI, LCB, Godhra; SDPO, Lunavada; Police Constable, LCB, Godhra; DSP, Godhra; ASP, Dahod, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 2 lakh (Rs 2,00,000).

- Register number: GJ 17 CW 0001
- Case reference: Special Criminal Application (Art. 226) / 1998 ACJ 97; (1997) 2 GLR 1045
- Court and date: Gujarat High Court (Coram: N. N. Mathur, J.), 21 February 1997
- Officer(s) at the material time: PSI, LCB, Godhra; SDPO, Lunavada; Police Constable, LCB, Godhra; DSP, Godhra; ASP, Dahod
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Not stated in the cited sources
- Finding of the Court (extract): “such sort of arrogant behaviour of the police officers definitely leads to mental and psychological torture.” (at para 24)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 2 lakh (Rs 2,00,000).
- 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/168768/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1997-0013)

**Record:** CW-1997-0013 (compiler id CWC-0756); case GUJARA-001
**Title:** Lunavada Man v. State of Gujarat and Others
**Court:** Gujarat High Court; judges: N. N. Mathur
**Case number / citation:** Special Criminal Application (Art. 226) / 1998 ACJ 97; (1997) 2 GLR 1045
**Judgment:** 1997-02-21 (1997, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1995-11-01 (1995)
**Place:** Panchmahal, Gujarat; city town: Lunavada; police station or unit: LCB, Godhra; SDPO Lunavada; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial torture
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Officers (gated display forms):** PSI, LCB, Godhra; SDPO, Lunavada; Police Constable, LCB, Godhra; DSP, Godhra; ASP, Dahod (5 in record)
**Victims:** Lunavada man, age 29 (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 2 lakh (Rs 2,00,000)
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The Single Judge held that a Lunavada man, a 29-year-old Assistant Intelligence Officer summoned around 1 am on 1-11-1995 by LCB Godhra staff, kept overnight at the Lunavada guest house and humiliated by senior officers before being found dead the next morning, was subjected to mental and psychological torture. Even on the police version of suicide, the court held he was insulted and humiliated for no cause and deprecated the indolent attitude of the ASP Dahod and DSP. It declined to transfer the investigation to the CBI but awarded Rs 2 lakh interim compensation to the widow, adjustable against any future decree, to be deposited with the Registrar and invested for three years, with Rs 5,000 costs. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> such sort of arrogant behaviour of the police officers definitely leads to mental and psychological torture.

**Sources (1):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/168768/)
**Verification:** V2 · Externally reported
**Review:** Solo Staff combined review (one combined attestation) — not yet recorded
**admin category:** brutality
**admin subcategory:** custodial_torture
**allegations:** {'category': 'Custodial torture', '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:** 24
**display title redacted:** Lunavada Man v. State of Gujarat and Others
**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': '1997-02-21', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Gujarat High Court', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Gujarat High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 200,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': '1998 ACJ 97; (1997) 2 GLR 1045', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/168768/', 'link_checked': None}
**retracted:** {"is_retracted": false}
**service:** police
**source assessment:** {"established": null, "basis": null}
**status:** current
**subcategory display:** custodial torture
**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:** Mental/psychological torture finding + Rs 2L interim compensation verified; CBI-transfer prayer declined as reported.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-1997-0013](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1997-0013)