# Prithipal Singh Etc. vs State of Punjab & Anr. Etc.

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## Report card

By judgment dated 4 November 2011 in Criminal Appeal Nos. 523-528 of 2009, the Supreme Court of India (Coram: B.S. Chauhan, P. Sathasivam, JJ.) affirmed the conviction of 5 police personnel, namely: Jaspal Singh (Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)); Satnam Singh (Sub-Inspector (SHO)); Surinderpal Singh (Sub-Inspector); Jasbir Singh (Sub-Inspector); Prithipal Singh (Head Constable).

- Register number: PB 02 CW 0008
- Case reference: Criminal Appeal Nos. 523-528 of 2009 / (2012) 1 SCC 10; AIR 2012 SC (Criminal) 333; 2012 AIR SCW 594
- Court and date: Supreme Court of India (Coram: B.S. Chauhan, P. Sathasivam, JJ.), 4 November 2011
- Officer(s) at the material time: Jaspal Singh (Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)); Satnam Singh (Sub-Inspector (SHO)); Surinderpal Singh (Sub-Inspector); Jasbir Singh (Sub-Inspector); Prithipal Singh (Head Constable)
- 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 364 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 201 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
- Finding of the Court (extract): “Tolerance of police atrocities, as in the instant case, would amount to acceptance of systematic subversion and erosion of the rule of law.” (at para 48)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Conviction upheld. Sentence: imprisonment.
- 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/342168/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2011-0019)

**Record:** CW-2011-0019 (compiler id CWC-0297); case SWENFORC-002
**Title:** Prithipal Singh Etc. vs State of Punjab & Anr. Etc.
**Court:** Supreme Court of India; judges: Dr. B.S. Chauhan; P. Sathasivam
**Case number / citation:** Criminal Appeal Nos. 523-528 of 2009 / (2012) 1 SCC 10; AIR 2012 SC (Criminal) 333; 2012 AIR SCW 594
**Judgment:** 2011-11-04 (2011, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1995-09-06 (1995)
**Place:** Amritsar, Punjab; city town: Amritsar; police station or unit: Police Station Jhabal, Tarn Taran; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** enforced disappearance
**Outcome:** Conviction upheld (conviction_upheld)
**Sections:** IPC 302; IPC 34; IPC 364; IPC 120B; IPC 201
**Officers (gated display forms):** Jaspal Singh (Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)); Satnam Singh (Sub-Inspector (SHO)); Surinderpal Singh (Sub-Inspector); Jasbir Singh (Sub-Inspector); Prithipal Singh (Head Constable) (5 in record)
**Victims:** Amritsar man (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** imprisonment
**Sentence type:** imprisonment (imprisonment)

The judgment of the Supreme Court of India records the following account. Human rights activist an Amritsar man, who investigated and exposed the mass illegal cremations of thousands of unidentified bodies by Punjab Police, was abducted outside his Amritsar home on 6 September 1995. He was detained secretly at Police Station Jhabal in Tarn Taran, subjected to severe torture, and subsequently shot dead, with his body discarded in the Harike canal. The trial court and Punjab and Haryana High Court convicted five police personnel, enhancing four abductors sentences to life imprisonment. The Supreme Court dismissed all appeals, upholding the life imprisonment sentences for DSP Jaspal Singh and four other police officers, and observed that tolerance of police atrocities would subvert the rule of law.

> Tolerance of police atrocities, as in the instant case, would amount to acceptance of systematic subversion and erosion of the rule of law.

**Sources (2):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/342168/); [api.sci.gov.in](https://api.sci.gov.in/jonew/judis/38806.pdf)
**Verification:** V2 · Externally reported
**Review:** Solo Staff combined review (one combined attestation) — not yet recorded
**admin category:** brutality
**admin subcategory:** enforced_disappearance
**allegations:** {'category': 'Other', '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:** 48
**display title redacted:** Prithipal Singh Etc. vs State of Punjab & Anr. Etc.
**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': '(2012) 1 SCC 10; AIR 2012 SC (Criminal) 333; 2012 AIR SCW 594', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}; {'date': '2011-11-04', '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': '(2012) 1 SCC 10; AIR 2012 SC (Criminal) 333; 2012 AIR SCW 594', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/342168/', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://api.sci.gov.in/jonew/judis/38806.pdf', 'link_checked': None}
**retracted:** {"is_retracted": false}
**service:** police
**source assessment:** {"established": null, "basis": null}
**status:** current
**subcategory display:** enforced disappearance
**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 upheld convictions and life imprisonment sentences of five Punjab Police personnel for the abduction, illegal custody torture, and murder of activist an Amritsar man
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Conviction upheld.

[Open CW-2011-0019](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2011-0019)