# Thoothukudi Man v. State of Tamil Nadu and Ors.

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## Report card

By judgment dated 19 January 2009 in W.P. No. 6195 of 2000, the Madras High Court (Coram: K. Chandru, J.) returned findings adverse to 10 police personnel, namely: Sub-Inspector, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Sub-Inspector, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 8 lakh (Rs 8,00,000).

- Register number: TN 69 CW 0001
- Case reference: W.P. No. 6195 of 2000 / (2009) 01 MAD CK 0111
- Court and date: Madras High Court (Coram: K. Chandru, J.), 19 January 2009
- Officer(s) at the material time: Sub-Inspector, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Sub-Inspector, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Article 21 of the Constitution of India; Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India; Article 226 of the Constitution of India
- Finding of the Court (extract): “The petitioner lost her only breadwinner by the gruesome act committed by the policemen functioning under the control of the third respondent.” (at para 19)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 8 lakh (Rs 8,00,000).
- 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://www.courtkutchehry.com/judgements/28795/krishnammal-appellant-hash-state-of-tamil-nadu-respondent/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2009-0018)

**Record:** CW-2009-0018 (compiler id CWC-0833); case GAP2-38-006
**Title:** Thoothukudi Man v. State of Tamil Nadu and Ors.
**Court:** Madras High Court; judges: K. Chandru
**Case number / citation:** W.P. No. 6195 of 2000 / (2009) 01 MAD CK 0111
**Judgment:** 2009-01-19 (2009, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1999-09-18 (1999)
**Place:** Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu; city town: Thoothukudi; police station or unit: Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial death
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Sections:** Constitution Art 21; Constitution Art 22(1); Constitution Art 226
**Officers (gated display forms):** Sub-Inspector, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Sub-Inspector, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station; Grade-I Police Constable, Thalamuthu Nagar Police Station (10 in record)
**Victims:** Thoothukudi man (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 8 lakh (Rs 8,00,000)
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The judgment of the Madras High Court records the following account. A Thoothukudi man, a ward member and bullock-cart driver, was picked up on 17 September 1999 by Thalamuthu Nagar police, chained and tortured overnight in the station, and brought dead to Thoothukudi Government Hospital on 18 September 1999 with 38 injuries. The RDO enquiry under PSO 145 and the States own G.O.Ms. No. 1284/2000 found brutal torture by the named duty personnel and ordered criminal prosecution and departmental action, but no action was shown taken. The court held the detention without authority violated Article 22(1) and the D.K. Basu safeguards, directed the State to pay Rs.8 lakhs within four weeks, and ordered proceedings against the guilty officers with recovery from their personal salaries if necessary. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> The petitioner lost her only breadwinner by the gruesome act committed by the policemen functioning under the control of the third respondent.

**Sources (2):** [courtkutchehry.com](https://www.courtkutchehry.com/judgements/28795/krishnammal-appellant-hash-state-of-tamil-nadu-respondent/); [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/271846/)
**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:** 19
**display title redacted:** Thoothukudi Man v. 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': '2009-01-19', '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 800,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': '(2009) 01 MAD CK 0111', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://www.courtkutchehry.com/judgements/28795/krishnammal-appellant-hash-state-of-tamil-nadu-respondent/', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/271846/', '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:** Madras HC (K. Chandru, J.) allowed W.P. 6195/2000: custodial torture-death of a Thoothukudi man proved (38 injuries); Rs.8L compensation plus action/salary recovery against 10 named policemen.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

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