# Nandigram Man & Ors vs State of West Bengal & Ors

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2007-0014](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2007-0014)

## Report card

By judgment dated 16 November 2007 in W.P. No. 8596(W) of 2007, the Calcutta High Court (Coram: S.S. Nijjar, Pinaki Chandra Ghose, JJ.) returned findings adverse to the accused police personnel, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 238 lakh (Rs 2,38,00,000).

- Register number: WB 29 CW 0002
- Case reference: W.P. No. 8596(W) of 2007 / 2007 (4) CHN 842, 2007 SCC OnLine Cal 672
- Court and date: Calcutta High Court (Coram: S.S. Nijjar, Pinaki Chandra Ghose, JJ.), 16 November 2007
- Officer(s) at the material time: Not identified in the cited sources (Nandigram Police Station)
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Article 14 of the Constitution of India; Article 19 of the Constitution of India; Article 21 of the Constitution of India; Article 226 of the Constitution of India; the Police Act, 1861; Regulation Bengal 1943 Regulation 153 of the Police Regulations; Regulation Bengal 1943 Regulation 154 of the Police Regulations; Regulation Bengal 1943 Regulation 155 of the Police Regulations; Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973
- Finding of the Court (extract): “The action of the police department to open fire at Nandigram on 14.03.2007 was wholly unconstitutional and cannot be justified under any provision of the law.” (at para 140)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 238 lakh (Rs 2,38,00,000).
- 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/1186017/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2007-0014)

**Record:** CW-2007-0014 (compiler id CWC-0425); case SWDISPRO-002
**Title:** Nandigram Man & Ors vs State of West Bengal & Ors
**Court:** Calcutta High Court; judges: S.S. Nijjar; Pinaki Chandra Ghose
**Case number / citation:** W.P. No. 8596(W) of 2007 / 2007 (4) CHN 842, 2007 SCC OnLine Cal 672
**Judgment:** 2007-11-16 (2007, day precision)
**Incident date:** 2007-03-14 (2007)
**Place:** Purba Medinipur, West Bengal; city town: Nandigram; police station or unit: Nandigram Police Station; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** disproportionate force
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Sections:** Constitution of India Art. 14; Constitution of India Art. 19; Constitution of India Art. 21; Constitution of India Art. 226; Police Act 1861; Police Regulations Bengal 1943 Regulation 153; Police Regulations Bengal 1943 Regulation 154; Police Regulations Bengal 1943 Regulation 155; CrPC s.144
**Officers (gated display forms):** None named (0 in record)
**Victims:** Nandigram man; Nandigram man; Nandigram man; Nandigram man; Nandigram man; Nandigram woman; Nandigram man; Nandigram woman; Nandigram man; Nandigram man; Nandigram man; Nandigram man; Nandigram man; Nandigram woman, age 35; Nandigram woman, age 27; Nandigram woman (176 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 238 lakh (Rs 2,38,00,000)
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The judgment of the Calcutta High Court records the following account. On 14 March 2007, West Bengal Police opened prolonged, indiscriminate gunfire on villagers protesting land acquisition in Nandigram, killing 14 persons, injuring 162, and sexually assaulting several women. Acting on writ petitions and suo motu proceedings, the Calcutta High Court held the police firing wholly unconstitutional, unjustified under the CrPC, Police Act, 1861, or Police Regulations Bengal, 1943, and struck down Regulation 155(b) as unconstitutional. Rejecting the State's plea of sovereign immunity, the High Court ordered the State of West Bengal to pay immediate compensation of Rs. 5 lakh to the next of kin of each deceased, not less than Rs. 1 lakh to each injured person, and Rs. 2 lakh to each identified rape victim. The Court also ordered the CBI to conduct an independent investigation and initiate criminal proceedings against responsible officials. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> The action of the police department to open fire at Nandigram on 14.03.2007 was wholly unconstitutional and cannot be justified under any provision of the law.

**Sources (2):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1186017/); [amnesty.org](https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/asa200012008eng.pdf)
**Verification:** V2 · Externally reported
**Review:** Solo Staff combined review (one combined attestation) — not yet recorded
**admin category:** brutality
**admin subcategory:** disproportionate_force
**allegations:** {'category': 'Protest policing', '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:** True
**court quote para:** 140
**display title redacted:** Nandigram Man & Ors vs State of West Bengal & 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': '2007-11-16', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Calcutta High Court', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Calcutta High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 23,800,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': '2007 (4) CHN 842, 2007 SCC OnLine Cal 672', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1186017/', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.amnesty.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/asa200012008eng.pdf', 'link_checked': None}
**retracted:** {"is_retracted": false}
**service:** police
**source assessment:** {"established": null, "basis": null}
**status:** current
**subcategory display:** disproportionate force
**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:** Calcutta HC held Nandigram police firing wholly unconstitutional and illegal, awarding compensation to families of deceased, injured, and rape victims.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**victims redacted:** {'age': None, 'gender': 'male', 'descriptor': 'a man'}; {'age': None, 'gender': 'male', 'descriptor': 'a man'}; {'age': None, 'gender': 'male', 'descriptor': 'a man'}; {'age': None, 'gender': 'male', 'descriptor': 'a man'}; {'age': None, 'gender': 'male', 'descriptor': 'a man'}; {'age': None, 'gender': 'female', 'descriptor': 'a woman'}; {'age': None, 'gender': 'male', 'descriptor': 'a man'}; {'age': None, 'gender': 'female', 'descriptor': 'a woman'}; {'age': None, 'gender': 'male', 'descriptor': 'a man'}; {'age': None, 'gender': 'male', 'descriptor': 'a man'}; {'age': None, 'gender': 'male', 'descriptor': 'a man'}; {'age': None, 'gender': 'male', 'descriptor': 'a man'}; {'age': None, 'gender': 'male', 'descriptor': 'a man'}; {'age': 35, 'gender': 'female', 'descriptor': 'a woman'}; {'age': 27, 'gender': 'female', 'descriptor': 'a woman'}; {'age': None, 'gender': 'female', 'descriptor': 'a woman'}
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-2007-0014](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2007-0014)