# Dhupdhara Man vs State of Assam and Ors.

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2003-0015](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2003-0015)

## Report card

By judgment dated 6 March 2003 in Civil Rule No. 131 of 1998, the Gauhati High Court (Coram: B.B. Deb, J.) returned findings adverse to the accused police personnel, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 50,000.

- Register number: AS 18 CW 0001
- Case reference: Civil Rule No. 131 of 1998 / (2003) CriLJ 4536; (2003) 2 GLR 386
- Court and date: Gauhati High Court (Coram: B.B. Deb, J.), 6 March 2003
- Officer(s) at the material time: Not identified in the cited sources (Dhupdhara Police Station)
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Not stated in the cited sources
- Finding of the Court (extract): “The deceased committed suicide while in custody and that was due to gross negligence of the Police personnel of that PS and thus, the Police authority cannot totally absolve its liability.” (at para 5)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 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://indiankanoon.org/doc/583806/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2003-0015)

**Record:** CW-2003-0015 (compiler id CWC-0917); case ASSAM-009
**Title:** Dhupdhara Man vs State of Assam and Ors.
**Court:** Gauhati High Court; judges: B.B. Deb
**Case number / citation:** Civil Rule No. 131 of 1998 / (2003) CriLJ 4536; (2003) 2 GLR 386
**Judgment:** 2003-03-06 (2003, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1997-09-08 (1997)
**Place:** Goalpara, Assam; city town: Dhupdhara; police station or unit: Dhupdhara Police Station; 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:** Dhupdhara man (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 50,000
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The Gauhati High Court (B.B. Deb, J.) allowed the writ petition arising from the death of a Dhupdhara man, arrested on 8 September 1997 and found hanged inside the Dhupdhara police lock-up the same afternoon. The Court rejected the torture-murder allegation on the post-mortem evidence but held the death was a suicide enabled by gross and reckless negligence of the lock-up staff, noting a blanket had no business inside the lock-up in September and the iron-barred lock-up was visible from the duty point. It awarded Rs. 50,000 compensation to the widow, payable within 45 days, and left the State free to enquire into and proceed against the erring officials. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> The deceased committed suicide while in custody and that was due to gross negligence of the Police personnel of that PS and thus, the Police authority cannot totally absolve its liability.

**Sources (2):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/583806/); [sooperkanoon.com](https://sooperkanoon.com/case/135335/jahira-nessa-bewa-vs-state-assam-ors)
**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:** 5
**display title redacted:** Dhupdhara Man vs State of Assam 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': \['court_quote_para'\]}
**followup status:** checked
**institutional response:** {'date': '2003-03-06', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Gauhati High Court', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Gauhati High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 50,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': '(2003) CriLJ 4536; (2003) 2 GLR 386', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/583806/', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://sooperkanoon.com/case/135335/jahira-nessa-bewa-vs-state-assam-ors', '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:** Primary judgment verified: custodial suicide due to police negligence, Rs 50,000 compensation.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-2003-0015](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2003-0015)