# Belagavi Man and Others vs State of Karnataka and Others

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2000-0008](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2000-0008)

## Report card

By judgment dated 5 September 2000 in Writ Petition under Article 226, the Karnataka High Court (Coram: H. L. Dattu, J.) returned findings adverse to the accused police personnel, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 3 lakh (Rs 3,00,000).

- Register number: KA 22 CW 0002
- Case reference: Writ Petition under Article 226 / 2000 Cri LJ 4408; (2001) ILR Kant 1531
- Court and date: Karnataka High Court (Coram: H. L. Dattu, J.), 5 September 2000
- Officer(s) at the material time: Not identified in the cited sources (Belgaum Central Prison / police custody)
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Not stated in the cited sources
- Finding of the Court (extract): “the only inference that can be drawn is that the petitioner's husband died while he was in police custody because of torture and injury caused by police authority by their brutal beating, may be with a wooden rod.” (at para 18)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 3 lakh (Rs 3,00,000).
- 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/734486/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2000-0008)

**Record:** CW-2000-0008 (compiler id CWC-0684); case GAP10-007
**Title:** Belagavi Man and Others vs State of Karnataka and Others
**Court:** Karnataka High Court; judges: H. L. Dattu
**Case number / citation:** Writ Petition under Article 226 / 2000 Cri LJ 4408; (2001) ILR Kant 1531
**Judgment:** 2000-09-05 (2000, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1992-07-07 (1992)
**Place:** Belagavi, Karnataka (district at time: Belgaum); city town: Belagavi; police station or unit: Belgaum Central Prison / police custody; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial death
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Officers (gated display forms):** None named (0 in record)
**Victims:** Belagavi man (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 3 lakh (Rs 3,00,000)
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The judgment of the Karnataka High Court records the following account. A Belagavi man, an under-trial auto driver transferred from Bangalore to Belgaum Central Prison, sustained injuries in custody on 4 July 1992 and died in hospital on 7 July 1992. The authorities claimed a jail-break attempt led to a mild lathi-charge and stampede injuring 62 prisoners; the family alleged brutal beating and torture in police custody. Justice Dattu found the ADGP (Prisons) enquiry report a farce that ignored uniform contusions and a fatal cervical-spine injury consistent with deliberate beating while in custody. Citing Nilabati Behera, D.K. Basu and Kewal Pati, the Court held he died in police custody because of torture by brutal beating, allowed the petition, awarded Rs.3 lakh compensation, and directed the State to appoint an investigating agency to fix responsibility of the police personnel. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> the only inference that can be drawn is that the petitioner's husband died while he was in police custody because of torture and injury caused by police authority by their brutal beating, may be with a wooden rod.

**Sources (1):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/734486/)
**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:** 18
**display title redacted:** Belagavi Man and Others vs State of Karnataka 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': 'wrong_facts', 'corrections_applied': \['court_quote', 'court_quote_para'\]}
**followup status:** checked
**institutional response:** {'date': '2000-09-05', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Karnataka High Court', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Karnataka High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 300,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': '2000 Cri LJ 4408; (2001) ILR Kant 1531', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/734486/', '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:** HC held under-trial beaten to death in custody; Rs.3 lakh compensation plus probe to fix police responsibility.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-2000-0008](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2000-0008)