# K. Kotapadu Man vs Government of A.P. and Ors.

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2002-0007](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2002-0007)

## Report card

By judgment dated 11 October 2002, the Andhra Pradesh High Court (Coram: T. Meena Kumari, J.) returned findings adverse to the accused police personnel, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 1 lakh (Rs 1,00,000).

- Register number: AP 39 CW 0019
- Case reference: 2002(6) ALD 794; 2003(1) ALT 504
- Court and date: Andhra Pradesh High Court (Coram: T. Meena Kumari, J.), 11 October 2002
- Officer(s) at the material time: Not identified in the cited sources
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Article 21 of the Constitution of India; Article 226 of the Constitution of India
- Finding of the Court (extract): “In all probability, the husband of the petitioner might have committed suicide because of the unable to bear physical torture meted out to him by the police while he was in their custody.” (at para 16)
- 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/1093510/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2002-0007)

**Record:** CW-2002-0007 (compiler id CWC-0014); case ANDHRA-014
**Title:** K. Kotapadu Man vs Government of A.P. and Ors.
**Court:** Andhra Pradesh High Court; judges: T. Meena Kumari
**Case number / citation:** 2002(6) ALD 794; 2003(1) ALT 504
**Judgment:** 2002-10-11 (2002, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1993-08-25 (1993)
**Place:** Anakapalli, Andhra Pradesh (district at time: Visakhapatnam); city town: K. Kotapadu; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial death
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Sections:** CrPC s.174; Constitution of India Art. 21; Constitution of India Art. 226
**Officers (gated display forms):** None named (1 in record)
**Victims:** K. Kotapadu man (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 1 lakh (Rs 1,00,000)
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The Andhra Pradesh High Court held that a K. Kotapadu man, arrested on 24 August 1993 with a suspected stolen motorcycle, bore injuries sustained only after being brought to the police station, where he was chained by the leg to a window rod in the lockup. The Court found that in all probability he hanged himself on 25 August 1993 unable to bear physical torture by the police, rejecting the claim that he acted from despondency and calling it strange that officers in the front room noticed nothing. Holding that his fundamental right to life under Article 21 had been violated, the Court awarded his 25-year-old widow Rs 1,00,000 as compensation, directing the State to hold it in a five-year fixed deposit with quarterly interest payable to her. The judgment identifies the erring officer only as the second respondent. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> In all probability, the husband of the petitioner might have committed suicide because of the unable to bear physical torture meted out to him by the police while he was in their custody.

**Sources (1):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1093510/)
**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:** 16
**display title redacted:** K. Kotapadu Man vs Government of A.P. and 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': '2002-10-11', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Andhra Pradesh High Court', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Andhra Pradesh High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 100,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': '2002(6) ALD 794; 2003(1) ALT 504', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1093510/', '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:** Custodial torture drove detainee to suicide; Rs 1L compensation verified.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-2002-0007](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2002-0007)