# Dadva Woman vs State of Gujarat & Ors.

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1998-0001](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1998-0001)

## Report card

By judgment dated 10 February 1998, the Gujarat High Court (Coram: K. G. Balakrishnan, M. S. Shah, JJ.) returned findings adverse to 4 police personnel, namely: Police Sub-Inspector, Umrala, Bhavnagar; Lady Constable, Umrala, Bhavnagar; Deputy Superintendent of Police, Botad; Circle Police Inspector, Botad, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 20,000.

- Register number: GJ 04 CW 0001
- Case reference: (1998) 1 GLR 613
- Court and date: Gujarat High Court (Coram: K. G. Balakrishnan, M. S. Shah, JJ.), 10 February 1998
- Officer(s) at the material time: Police Sub-Inspector, Umrala, Bhavnagar; Lady Constable, Umrala, Bhavnagar; Deputy Superintendent of Police, Botad; Circle Police Inspector, Botad
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Article 14 of the Constitution of India; Article 19 of the Constitution of India; Article 21 of the Constitution of India; Article 226 of the Constitution of India
- Finding of the Court (extract): “We have, therefore, no hesitation in coming to the conclusion that not only the arrest of \[the survivor\] during night hours between July 12 and 13, 1997 was absolutely unjustified but was unconstitutional and violative of her fundaments rights under …” (at para 21)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 20,000.
- 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/1065600/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1998-0001)

**Record:** CW-1998-0001 (compiler id CWC-0154); case GUJARA-007
**Title:** Dadva Woman vs State of Gujarat & Ors.
**Court:** Gujarat High Court; judges: K. G. Balakrishnan; M. S. Shah
**Case number / citation:** (1998) 1 GLR 613
**Judgment:** 1998-02-10 (1998, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1997-07-12 (1997)
**Place:** Bhavnagar, Gujarat; city town: Dadva; police station or unit: Umrala Police Station; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** illegal detention false imprisonment
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Sections:** Constitution Art. 14; Constitution Art. 19; Constitution Art. 21; Constitution Art. 226
**Officers (gated display forms):** Police Sub-Inspector, Umrala, Bhavnagar; Lady Constable, Umrala, Bhavnagar; Deputy Superintendent of Police, Botad; Circle Police Inspector, Botad (4 in record)
**Victims:** Dadva woman; Dadva man (2 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 20,000
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

On a PIL by Lok Adhikar Sangh, a Division Bench of the Gujarat High Court held the night arrest, handcuffing, parading and delayed production of Dadva Sarpanch the survivor, then pregnant, and her husband \[name withheld\] unjustified and violative of Article 21 and the Supreme Court arrest and handcuffing directives. The Court found the couple were arrested between midnight and 1 a.m. on 12/13 July 1997, tied with ropes and paraded in the village with chappals and slates around their necks before a crowd, corroborated by 22 villagers. It directed the State to pay Rs 10,000 each to the couple as exemplary compensation under Article 226 within one month, recoverable from the concerned police officials. The involved officers were ordered kept out of the district during inquiry, PSI being already under suspension. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> We have, therefore, no hesitation in coming to the conclusion that not only the arrest of \[the survivor\] during night hours between July 12 and 13, 1997 was absolutely unjustified but was unconstitutional and violative of her fundaments rights under Article 21 of the Constitution and so also the handcuffing of \[the survivor\]'s husband in the evening of July 13, 1997 was also absolutely unjustified, illegal and unconstitutional and violative of his fundamental rights under Article 21 of the Constitution.

**Sources (1):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1065600/)
**Verification:** V2 · Externally reported
**Review:** Solo Staff combined review (one combined attestation) — not yet recorded
**admin category:** brutality
**admin subcategory:** illegal_detention_false_imprisonment
**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
**court quote para:** 21
**display title redacted:** Dadva Woman vs State of Gujarat & Ors.
**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': '1998-02-10', '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 20,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': '(1998) 1 GLR 613', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1065600/', 'link_checked': None}
**retracted:** {"is_retracted": false}
**service:** police
**source assessment:** {"established": null, "basis": null}
**status:** current
**subcategory display:** illegal detention false imprisonment
**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:** Gujarat HC Division Bench judgment verified; night arrest/parading held Article 21 violation, compensation ordered.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-1998-0001](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-1998-0001)