# Wallajahbad Police Sub-Inspector vs State rep. by Inspector of Police, Chennai

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2002-0016](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2002-0016)

## Report card

By judgment dated 1 November 2002 in Criminal Appeal Nos. 105-106 of 2002, the Supreme Court of India (Coram: N. Santosh Hegde, K.G. Balakrishnan, JJ.) affirmed the conviction of 2 police personnel, namely: Sub-Inspector, Wallajahbad Police Station; Sub-Inspector, Wallajahbad Police Station.

- Register number: TN 21 CW 0001
- Case reference: Criminal Appeal Nos. 105-106 of 2002 / (2003) 1 SCC 534; AIR 2003 SC 215
- Court and date: Supreme Court of India (Coram: N. Santosh Hegde, K.G. Balakrishnan, JJ.), 1 November 2002
- Officer(s) at the material time: Sub-Inspector, Wallajahbad Police Station; Sub-Inspector, Wallajahbad Police Station
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 330 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 348 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
- Finding of the Court (extract): “Torturing a person and using third degree methods are of medieval nature and they are barbaric and contrary to law.”
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Conviction upheld. Sentence: imprisonment.
- 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/1622549/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2002-0016)

**Record:** CW-2002-0016 (compiler id CWC-0729); case GAP2-001
**Title:** Wallajahbad Police Sub-Inspector vs State rep. by Inspector of Police, Chennai
**Court:** Supreme Court of India; judges: N. Santosh Hegde; K.G. Balakrishnan
**Case number / citation:** Criminal Appeal Nos. 105-106 of 2002 / (2003) 1 SCC 534; AIR 2003 SC 215
**Judgment:** 2002-11-01 (2002, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1985-03-05 (1985)
**Place:** Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu; city town: Wallajahbad; police station or unit: Wallajahbad Police Station; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial death
**Outcome:** Conviction upheld (conviction_upheld)
**Sections:** IPC 302; IPC 34; IPC 330; IPC 348; IPC 201
**Officers (gated display forms):** Sub-Inspector, Wallajahbad Police Station; Sub-Inspector, Wallajahbad Police Station (2 in record)
**Victims:** Wallajahbad man (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** imprisonment
**Sentence type:** imprisonment (imprisonment)

A Wallajahbad man, a suspect in a double-murder case, was brought to Wallajahbad Police Station on 5 March 1985, beaten in custody by the appellant officers, driven away in a police jeep and found dead the next morning; the officers falsely claimed he had escaped. A habeas corpus petition led the Madras High Court to order a CBCID probe, after which the Sessions Judge, Chengalpattu convicted the officers and the High Court confirmed the conviction. The Supreme Court held the circumstantial chain of last-seen evidence, the false escape story and identification of the body proved custodial murder beyond doubt. It dismissed the appeals, sustaining life imprisonment under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC plus concurrent terms under Sections 330, 348 and 201 IPC.

> Torturing a person and using third degree methods are of medieval nature and they are barbaric and contrary to law.

**Sources (1):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1622549/)
**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
**display title redacted:** Wallajahbad Police Sub-Inspector vs State rep. by Inspector of Police, Chennai
**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': None, 'action_type': 'Conviction', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Trial court (as recorded in the Supreme Court of India judgment)', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The trial court convicted the accused police personnel, as recorded in the Supreme Court of India judgment.', 'disposition': 'Conviction · Supports allegation', 'source': '(2003) 1 SCC 534; AIR 2003 SC 215', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}; {'date': '2002-11-01', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Supreme Court of India', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Supreme Court of India dismissed the appeal and upheld the convictions of police personnel.', 'disposition': 'Conviction · Supports allegation (appellate affirmance; trial conviction separate card)', 'source': '(2003) 1 SCC 534; AIR 2003 SC 215', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1622549/', '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:** SC judgment verified; life sentences of two Wallajahbad SIs for custodial murder confirmed.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Conviction upheld.

[Open CW-2002-0016](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2002-0016)