# Pondi Man v. State of Chhattisgarh and Ors.

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2012-0012](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2012-0012)

## Report card

By judgment dated 3 August 2012 in Civil Appeal No. 5703 of 2012, the Supreme Court of India (Coram: Dipak Misra, K. S. Radhakrishnan, JJ.) returned findings adverse to 2 police personnel, namely: Station House Officer, Pondi Police Station; Assistant Sub-Inspector, Pondi Police Station, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 5 lakh (Rs 5,00,000).

- Register number: CG 16 CW 0001
- Case reference: Civil Appeal No. 5703 of 2012 / (2012) 8 SCC 1; AIR 2012 SC 2573
- Court and date: Supreme Court of India (Coram: Dipak Misra, K. S. Radhakrishnan, JJ.), 3 August 2012
- Officer(s) at the material time: Station House Officer, Pondi Police Station; Assistant Sub-Inspector, Pondi Police Station
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Article 21 of the Constitution of India; Article 32 of the Constitution of India
- Finding of the Court (extract): “A sum of Rs.5.00 lacs (Rupees five lacs only) should be granted towards compensation to the appellant.” (at para 46)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 5 lakh (Rs 5,00,000).
- 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/24661153/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2012-0012)

**Record:** CW-2012-0012 (compiler id CWC-0089); case CHHATT-019
**Title:** Pondi Man v. State of Chhattisgarh and Ors.
**Court:** Supreme Court of India; judges: Dipak Misra; K. S. Radhakrishnan
**Case number / citation:** Civil Appeal No. 5703 of 2012 / (2012) 8 SCC 1; AIR 2012 SC 2573
**Judgment:** 2012-08-03 (2012, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1992-09-24 (1992)
**Place:** Koriya, Chhattisgarh (district at time: Surguja); city town: Pondi; police station or unit: Pondi Police Station; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial torture
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Sections:** Constitution Art. 21; Constitution Art. 32
**Officers (gated display forms):** Station House Officer, Pondi Police Station; Assistant Sub-Inspector, Pondi Police Station (2 in record)
**Victims:** Pondi man (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 5 lakh (Rs 5,00,000)
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The Supreme Court held that the appellant, an Ayurvedic doctor taken to Pondi Police Station on 24 September 1992 instead of Baikunthpur Jail, was abused, assaulted and photographed holding a self-humiliating placard that the police then circulated. The Court found, as the High Court had, that he suffered physical and mental torture in custody in violation of Article 21. It set aside the High Court direction requiring a fresh representation after 19 years and awarded Rs 5 lakh compensation. The Court directed payment within six weeks, recoverable from the erring officers in equal shares from their salaries. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> A sum of Rs.5.00 lacs (Rupees five lacs only) should be granted towards compensation to the appellant.

**Sources (1):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/24661153/)
**Verification:** V2 · Externally reported
**Review:** Solo Staff combined review (one combined attestation) — not yet recorded
**admin category:** brutality
**admin subcategory:** custodial_torture
**allegations:** {'category': 'Custodial torture', '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:** 46
**display title redacted:** Pondi Man v. State of Chhattisgarh 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': '2012-08-03', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Supreme Court of India', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Supreme Court of India recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 500,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': '(2012) 8 SCC 1; AIR 2012 SC 2573', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/24661153/', 'link_checked': None}
**retracted:** {"is_retracted": false}
**service:** police
**source assessment:** {"established": null, "basis": null}
**status:** current
**subcategory display:** custodial torture
**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:** SC held custodial torture proved; Rs 5 lakh compensation recoverable from officers.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-2012-0012](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2012-0012)