CW-2009-0005Golaghat, AssamJudgment 6 May 2009

Khoomtai Man vs State of Assam and Others

The Gauhati High Court held Assam Police and jail authorities responsible for the custodial death of a Khoomtai man, arrested on 12 May 2007 by Khoomtai outpost police though no FIR named him, and dead in Golaghat jail on 5 June 2007. The Court found all police records of his detention tampered with or fabricated, with arrest-related general diary entries made months after his death, and held the death in State custody was not natural. It awarded Rs 3,00,000 public-law damages to his mother, wife and minor son, recoverable from the officers, and directed registration of a criminal case under Sections 302/34 and 201 IPC. Shri [name withheld], from whom the court directed recovery of part of the Rs 3,00,000 compensation in equal proportion, is the Superintendent of the District Jail, Golaghat (prisons department), not a police officer. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

Externally reportedV2
What this record means

This page documents a court-adjudicated case from the judgment and cited sources below. Findings are attributed to the court; this record does not add findings of its own.

How verification works →

Report card

By judgment dated 6 May 2009 in Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 25 of 2008, the Gauhati High Court (Coram: Jasti Chelameswar, Hrishikesh Roy, JJ.) returned findings adverse to 3 police personnel, namely: Assistant Sub-Inspector (In-charge), Khoomtai Police Out Post, Kamargaon PS, Golaghat; Additional Superintendent of Police (HQ), Golaghat; Superintendent, District Jail, Golaghat, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 3 lakh (Rs 3,00,000).

Register number
AS 05 CW 0001
Case reference
Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 25 of 2008 / (2009) 05 GAU CK 0013
Court and date
Gauhati High Court (Coram: Jasti Chelameswar, Hrishikesh Roy, JJ.), 6 May 2009
Officer(s) at the material time
Assistant Sub-Inspector (In-charge), Khoomtai Police Out Post, Kamargaon PS, Golaghat; Additional Superintendent of Police (HQ), Golaghat; Superintendent, District Jail, Golaghat
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 201 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
Finding of the Court (extract)
“the death of a Khoomtai man, while in the custody of the State, does not appear to be a natural death and there is an utter failure on the part of the respondent officers of the State in protecting the …” (at para 15)
Verdict, sentence and quantum
Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: imprisonment and fine. Compensation: Rs 3 lakh (Rs 3,00,000).
Present status of the proceedings
No further proceedings are recorded in the cited sources; the judgment is the concluded position shown.

Compiled from the judgment and the cited sources. Findings are those of the court; this card adds none of its own.

The Gauhati High Court judgment dated 6 May 2009 is the concluded position shown in the cited sources.

Recorded allegations

1
Custodial deathPrimary
Material fact supported

Reliable material supports a specifically documented fact relevant to that allegation, not necessarily the full allegation, causation, intent, unlawfulness, or responsibility.

Official finding: supports allegation.

What the court found

Holding not recorded separately.

“the death of a Khoomtai man, while in the custody of the State, does not appear to be a natural death and there is an utter failure on the part of the respondent officers of the State in protecting the …” (para 15)

Institutional response

1
6 May 2009

Order issued

Concluded
Gauhati High Court External · Binding

The Gauhati High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 300,000.

Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only).
Source: (2009) 05 GAU CK 0013
Not yet re-checked.

Follow-up history

1
19 Sep 2026

(Round-8 full re-verification: published record re-checked against the judgment text (outcome, officers, quote, key facts) plus methodology-compliance pass; skills-guided adversarial re-verification of the published record against the judgment text (reverify/t1-*/adversarial-8.jsonl))

Corrections (0): No corrections recorded.

Review: Solo Staff combined review (one combined attestation) — not yet recorded.

Keep exploring

These records are listed together because they share a state or a topic. That does not mean they are connected.