# Shivamogga Police Police Constable & Others vs State of Karnataka

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2009-0010](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2009-0010)

## Report card

By judgment dated 3 December 2009 in Criminal Appeal No. 382 of 2003, the Supreme Court of India (Coram: Harjit Singh Bedi, J.M. Panchal, JJ.) affirmed the conviction of 4 police personnel, namely: K. H. Shekarappa (Police Constable); Police Constable, Doddapet Police Station, Shimoga; Police Constable, Doddapet Police Station, Shimoga; Head Constable, Doddapet Police Station, Shimoga, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 40,000.

- Register number: KA 14 CW 0001
- Case reference: Criminal Appeal No. 382 of 2003 / 2010 (3) SCR 883
- Court and date: Supreme Court of India (Coram: Harjit Singh Bedi, J.M. Panchal, JJ.), 3 December 2009
- Officer(s) at the material time: K. H. Shekarappa (Police Constable); Police Constable, Doddapet Police Station, Shimoga; Police Constable, Doddapet Police Station, Shimoga; Head Constable, Doddapet Police Station, Shimoga
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Section 304 Part II of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 324 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
- Finding of the Court (extract): “A fair reading of the testimony of this witness makes it abundantly clear that the appellants had subjected the two deceased to severe beating because of which they had died in the police station. Thus by ocular version the prosecution …” (at para 16)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Conviction upheld. Sentence: imprisonment and fine; maximum substantive term of 1 year. 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://indiankanoon.org/doc/88631322/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2009-0010)

**Record:** CW-2009-0010 (compiler id CWC-0188); case SUPREM-035; aliases: CWC-1464
**Title:** Shivamogga Police Police Constable & Others vs State of Karnataka
**Court:** Supreme Court of India; judges: Harjit Singh Bedi; J.M. Panchal
**Case number / citation:** Criminal Appeal No. 382 of 2003 / 2010 (3) SCR 883
**Judgment:** 2009-12-03 (2009, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1988-01-13 (1988)
**Place:** Shivamogga, Karnataka (district at time: Shimoga); city town: Shivamogga; police station or unit: Doddapet Police Station, Shivamogga; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial death
**Outcome:** Conviction upheld (conviction_upheld)
**Sections:** IPC 304 Part II; IPC 324; IPC 34
**Officers (gated display forms):** K. H. Shekarappa (Police Constable); Police Constable, Doddapet Police Station, Shimoga; Police Constable, Doddapet Police Station, Shimoga; Head Constable, Doddapet Police Station, Shimoga (8 in record)
**Victims:** Shivamogga man; Shivamogga man; Shivamogga man; Shivamogga man; Shivamogga man (5 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** mixed; max 1 yrs; Rs 40,000
**Sentence type:** mixed (mixed)

The judgment of the Supreme Court of India records the following account. In the early hours of 13 January 1988, Doddapet police picked up five men over a New Year liquor-bar brawl and beat them in the lock-up and verandah — three victims were tied to stone pillars and thrashed with lathis and tyre pieces. A Shivamogga man (24 injuries) and a Shivamogga man (40 injuries) died in the station while a Shivamogga man and others were seriously injured. The trial court convicted the policemen for murder; after a split verdict in the High Court, the third judge convicted under Section 304 Part II with one year's RI. The Supreme Court dismissed the policemen's appeal, holding the deaths were caused by cruel thrashing in custody and the defence of injuries by fall was false, upholding one year's RI plus Rs 5,000 fine each (Rs 40,000 total, payable to the heirs of the two deceased).

> A fair reading of the testimony of this witness makes it abundantly clear that the appellants had subjected the two deceased to severe beating because of which they had died in the police station. Thus by ocular version the prosecution has proved its case against the appellants beyond reasonable doubt.

**Sources (2):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/88631322/); [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/68383910/)
**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:** 16
**display title redacted:** Shivamogga Police Police Constable & Others vs State of Karnataka
**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': '2010 (3) SCR 883', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}; {'date': '2009-12-03', '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': '2010 (3) SCR 883', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/88631322/', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/68383910/', '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:** Supreme Court dismissed the policemen's appeal and upheld conviction under Section 304 Part II read with Section 34 IPC with one year's rigorous imprisonment and fine for the custodial beating deaths of two detainees.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Conviction upheld.

[Open CW-2009-0010](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2009-0010)