# Narwana Man and Others vs State of Haryana and Others

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## Report card

By judgment dated 31 March 2000 in Criminal Writ Petition No. 1263 of 1996, the Punjab and Haryana High Court (Coram: K. S. Kumaran, J.) returned findings adverse to 4 police personnel, namely: Head Constable, Police Station Sadar Narwana; Assistant Sub-Inspector, Police Station Sadar Narwana; Station House Officer, Police Station Sadar Narwana; Deputy Superintendent of Police, Narwana, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh (Rs 1,50,000).

- Register number: HR 31 CW 0001
- Case reference: Criminal Writ Petition No. 1263 of 1996 / (2000) 2 RCR (Criminal) 560
- Court and date: Punjab and Haryana High Court (Coram: K. S. Kumaran, J.), 31 March 2000
- Officer(s) at the material time: Head Constable, Police Station Sadar Narwana; Assistant Sub-Inspector, Police Station Sadar Narwana; Station House Officer, Police Station Sadar Narwana; Deputy Superintendent of Police, Narwana
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 61(1)(14) of the Excise Act; Article 21 of the Constitution of India; Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India
- Finding of the Court (extract): “Therefore, from the materials placed before the Court, especially the report of the Forensic Science Laboratory and the opinion of the Board of Doctors, who gave the opinion that a Narwana man died of aluminium phosphide (celphos) poisoning, it is …” (at para 23)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 1.5 lakh (Rs 1,50,000).
- 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://www.courtkutchehry.com/judgements/154381/rajwant-kaur-and-others-vs-state-of-haryana-and-others/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2000-0012)

**Record:** CW-2000-0012 (compiler id CWC-0886); case GAP2-49-001
**Title:** Narwana Man and Others vs State of Haryana and Others
**Court:** Punjab and Haryana High Court; judges: K. S. Kumaran
**Case number / citation:** Criminal Writ Petition No. 1263 of 1996 / (2000) 2 RCR (Criminal) 560
**Judgment:** 2000-03-31 (2000, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1996-07-29 (1996)
**Place:** Jind, Haryana; city town: Narwana; police station or unit: Police Station Sadar Narwana; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial death
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Sections:** IPC 302; Excise Act s.61(1)(14); Constitution Art. 21; Constitution Art. 226/227
**Officers (gated display forms):** Head Constable, Police Station Sadar Narwana; Assistant Sub-Inspector, Police Station Sadar Narwana; Station House Officer, Police Station Sadar Narwana; Deputy Superintendent of Police, Narwana (4 in record)
**Victims:** Narwana man, age 41 (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 1.5 lakh (Rs 1,50,000)
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The Punjab and Haryana High Court accepted a Sessions Judge's enquiry finding that a Narwana man, 41, was illegally arrested and murdered in the custody of Police Station Sadar Narwana on the night of 28-29 July 1996 by being given alcohol laced with aluminium phosphide. The court rejected the police and co-detainee accounts as unreliable, held the State vicariously liable under Nilabati Behera and D.K. Basu, and awarded Rs 1,50,000 compensation payable within two months. It transferred investigation of FIR No. 268 of 1996 under Section 302 IPC to the CBI for prosecution of the guilty, leaving individual culpability to that probe. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> Therefore, from the materials placed before the Court, especially the report of the Forensic Science Laboratory and the opinion of the Board of Doctors, who gave the opinion that a Narwana man died of aluminium phosphide (celphos) poisoning, it is clear that a Narwana man had been killed while he was in police custody by giving/infesting into him the ethyle alcohol and the above said poison.

**Sources (1):** [courtkutchehry.com](https://www.courtkutchehry.com/judgements/154381/rajwant-kaur-and-others-vs-state-of-haryana-and-others/)
**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:** 23
**display title redacted:** Narwana Man and Others vs State of Haryana 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': \[\]}
**followup status:** checked
**institutional response:** {'date': '2000-03-31', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Punjab and Haryana High Court', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Punjab and Haryana High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 150,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': '(2000) 2 RCR (Criminal) 560', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://www.courtkutchehry.com/judgements/154381/rajwant-kaur-and-others-vs-state-of-haryana-and-others/', '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 a Narwana man illegally arrested and murdered in custody by poisoning; Rs 1.5L compensation and CBI probe ordered.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

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