# Ambiligai Man vs Secretary to Government and Another

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2009-0035](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2009-0035)

## Report card

By judgment dated 21 December 2009 in W.P. No.34155 of 2006, the Madras High Court (Coram: K. Chandru, J.) returned findings adverse to the Head Constable, Ambiligai Police Station, Dindigul District, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 1 lakh (Rs 1,00,000).

- Register number: TN 57 CW 0004
- Case reference: W.P. No.34155 of 2006
- Court and date: Madras High Court (Coram: K. Chandru, J.), 21 December 2009
- Officer(s) at the material time: Head Constable, Ambiligai Police Station, Dindigul District
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Article 226 of the Constitution of India
- Finding of the Court (extract): “The conduct exhibited by the petitioner, namely, detaining a person unlawfully in the lock up for more than three days and where the detenu also subsequently died cannot be condoned.” (at para 8)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 1 lakh (Rs 1,00,000).
- 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/1636343/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2009-0035)

**Record:** CW-2009-0035 (compiler id CWC-1286); case GAP3-85-015
**Title:** Ambiligai Man vs Secretary to Government and Another
**Court:** Madras High Court; judges: K. Chandru
**Case number / citation:** W.P. No.34155 of 2006
**Judgment:** 2009-12-21 (2009, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1992-01-08 (1992)
**Place:** Dindigul, Tamil Nadu; city town: Ambiligai; police station or unit: Ambiligai Police Station; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial death
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Sections:** Constitution Art.226
**Officers (gated display forms):** Head Constable, Ambiligai Police Station, Dindigul District (1 in record)
**Victims:** Ambiligai man (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 1 lakh (Rs 1,00,000)
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The judgment of the Madras High Court records the following account. Head Constable challenged the recovery of Rs.15,000 from his salary toward the Rs.1 lakh paid from the Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund to the family of an Ambiligai man, who died in the Ambiligai police lock-up in January 1992. The court found that the departmental enquiry had proved unlawful detention of over three days with use of excessive force causing death, for which he had already suffered a minor penalty that became final. The court held that making good the Government's loss was an automatic consequence and that his conduct clearly conflicted with D.K. Basu. The writ petition was dismissed with no costs. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> The conduct exhibited by the petitioner, namely, detaining a person unlawfully in the lock up for more than three days and where the detenu also subsequently died cannot be condoned.

**Sources (1):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1636343/)
**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:** 8
**display title redacted:** Ambiligai Man vs Secretary to Government and Another
**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': '2009-12-21', '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 100,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': 'W.P. No.34155 of 2006', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/1636343/', '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:** HC dismissed Head Constable's writ; upheld Rs.15,000 recovery toward Rs.1 lakh relief for 1992 lock-up death.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-2009-0035](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2009-0035)