# Courtalam Man vs State of Tamil Nadu and Ors.

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2008-0025](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2008-0025)

## Report card

By judgment dated 28 August 2008 in W.P. No. 29074 of 2007, the Madras High Court (Coram: P.K. Misra, K. Kannan, JJ.) returned findings adverse to the Police personnel, Courtalam/Tenkasi police (respondents 4-15), and directed payment of compensation of Rs 40,000.

- Register number: TN 76 CW 0001
- Case reference: W.P. No. 29074 of 2007 / (2008) 08 MAD CK 0069
- Court and date: Madras High Court (Coram: P.K. Misra, K. Kannan, JJ.), 28 August 2008
- Officer(s) at the material time: Police personnel, Courtalam/Tenkasi police (respondents 4-15)
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Article 226 of the Constitution of India
- Finding of the Court (extract): “The inference is obvious. It is the police who were responsible for the injuries on lawyers.” (at para 11)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 40,000.
- 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/66630/chairman-bar-council-of-tamil-nadu-appellant-hash-state-of-tamil-nadu-and-others-respondent/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2008-0025)

**Record:** CW-2008-0025 (compiler id CWC-0829); case GAP2-38-002
**Title:** Courtalam Man vs State of Tamil Nadu and Ors.
**Court:** Madras High Court; judges: P.K. Misra; K. Kannan
**Case number / citation:** W.P. No. 29074 of 2007 / (2008) 08 MAD CK 0069
**Judgment:** 2008-08-28 (2008, day precision)
**Incident date:** 2007-07-26 (2007)
**Place:** Tenkasi, Tamil Nadu (district at time: Tirunelveli); city town: Courtalam; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial torture
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Sections:** Constitution Art. 226
**Officers (gated display forms):** Police personnel, Courtalam/Tenkasi police (respondents 4-15)
**Victims:** Courtalam man; Courtalam man; Courtalam man; Courtalam man (4 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 40,000
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

A Division Bench of the Madras High Court (P.K. Misra and K. Kannan, JJ.) allowed the writ petition filed by the Chairman, Bar Council of Tamil Nadu for four Tuticorin advocates, a Courtalam man, a Courtalam man, a Courtalam man and a Courtalam man, who were rounded up at Courtalam in the early hours of 26 July 2007, detained at the police station and produced before the Magistrate at 11.30 a.m. with stick-mark injuries. Rejecting the police version of a public scuffle with a masseur, the court held the cane injuries proved assault in admitted police custody and that the State was vicariously liable. It awarded Rs.10,000 to each of the four advocates (Rs.40,000 total), leaving rival criminal complaints to trial. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> The inference is obvious. It is the police who were responsible for the injuries on lawyers.

**Sources (2):** [courtkutchehry.com](https://www.courtkutchehry.com/judgements/66630/chairman-bar-council-of-tamil-nadu-appellant-hash-state-of-tamil-nadu-and-others-respondent/); [casemine.com](https://www.casemine.com/judgement/in/56090393e4b014971115be33)
**Verification:** V2 · Externally reported
**Review:** Solo Staff combined review (one combined attestation) — not yet recorded
**admin category:** brutality
**admin subcategory:** custodial_torture
**allegations:** {'category': 'Custodial torture', '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:** 11
**display title redacted:** Courtalam Man vs State of Tamil Nadu 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': '2008-08-28', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Madras High Court', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Madras High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 40,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': '(2008) 08 MAD CK 0069', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://www.courtkutchehry.com/judgements/66630/chairman-bar-council-of-tamil-nadu-appellant-hash-state-of-tamil-nadu-and-others-respondent/', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.casemine.com/judgement/in/56090393e4b014971115be33', 'link_checked': None}
**retracted:** {"is_retracted": false}
**service:** police
**source assessment:** {"established": null, "basis": null}
**status:** current
**subcategory display:** custodial torture
**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:** Writ allowed; police held responsible for custodial assault on 4 advocates; Rs.10,000 each.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-2008-0025](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2008-0025)