# Rajkot Youngster v. Secretary to the Government of Gujarat and Another (Rajkot lathi-charge case)

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2013-0004](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2013-0004)

## Report card

By judgment dated 22 March 2013 in Writ Petition (PIL) No. 170 of 2012 (Suo Motu), the Gujarat High Court (Coram: Bhaskar Bhattacharya, J. B. Pardiwala, JJ.) returned findings adverse to the accused police personnel, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh (Rs 1,50,000).

- Register number: GJ 03 CW 0001
- Case reference: Writ Petition (PIL) No. 170 of 2012 (Suo Motu)
- Court and date: Gujarat High Court (Coram: Bhaskar Bhattacharya, J. B. Pardiwala, JJ.), 22 March 2013
- Officer(s) at the material time: Not identified in the cited sources (Rajkot City Police)
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Not stated in the cited sources
- Finding of the Court (extract): “At the cost of repetition, we state that what is painful is the fact that even when a member of the unlawful assembly meekly surrendered before the Police, the Police with a view to teach a lesson to such person, …” (at para 37)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: imprisonment and fine. Compensation: Rs 1.5 lakh (Rs 1,50,000).
- 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/155307395/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2013-0004)

**Record:** CW-2013-0004 (compiler id CWC-0518); case SWDISPRO-011
**Title:** Rajkot Youngster v. Secretary to the Government of Gujarat and Another (Rajkot lathi-charge case)
**Court:** Gujarat High Court; judges: Bhaskar Bhattacharya; J. B. Pardiwala
**Case number / citation:** Writ Petition (PIL) No. 170 of 2012 (Suo Motu)
**Judgment:** 2013-03-22 (2013, day precision)
**Incident date:** 2012-06-25 (2012)
**Place:** Rajkot, Gujarat; city town: Rajkot; police station or unit: Rajkot City Police; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** disproportionate force
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Officers (gated display forms):** None named (0 in record)
**Victims:** Rajkot youngster, age 9; Rajkot boy, age 14; Rajkot boy, age 11; Rajkot boy, age 16; Rajkot woman, age 38; Rajkot girl, age 16 (6 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** mixed; Rs 1.5 lakh (Rs 1,50,000)
**Sentence type:** mixed (mixed)

On a suo motu PIL based on photographs and a CD, the Gujarat High Court held Rajkot police guilty of an indiscriminate brutal lathi charge on innocent Dalit residents of Ambedkarnagar Colony, Thorala Ward, on 25 June 2012, a day after a Dalit leader murder. The Court found police beat targeted individuals including children and women, assaulted a surrendered person to teach a lesson, and attacked unconnected passers-by. Rejecting the mild-force defence, the Court awarded Rs 25,000 each as exemplary damages to six victims within four weeks, recoverable from erring officers salaries, and directed a Committee to fix penal liability with prosecution within eight weeks. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> At the cost of repetition, we state that what is painful is the fact that even when a member of the unlawful assembly meekly surrendered before the Police, the Police with a view to teach a lesson to such person, led a brutal assault with lathi, which is not permissible in law.

**Sources (1):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/155307395/)
**Verification:** V2 · Externally reported
**Review:** Solo Staff combined review (one combined attestation) — not yet recorded
**admin category:** brutality
**admin subcategory:** disproportionate_force
**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:** True
**court quote para:** 37
**display title redacted:** Rajkot Youngster v. Secretary to the Government of Gujarat and Another (Rajkot lathi-charge case)
**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': '2013-03-22', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Gujarat High Court', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Gujarat High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 150,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': 'Writ Petition (PIL) No. 170 of 2012 (Suo Motu)', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/155307395/', 'link_checked': None}
**retracted:** {"is_retracted": false}
**service:** police
**source assessment:** {"established": null, "basis": null}
**status:** current
**subcategory display:** disproportionate force
**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:** Brutal lathi charge on Dalits held proved; Rs 25K each to 6 victims; penal-liability probe ordered.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**victims redacted:** {'age': 9, 'gender': None, 'descriptor': 'a 9-year-old child'}; {'age': 14, 'gender': 'male', 'descriptor': 'a 14-year-old boy'}; {'age': 11, 'gender': 'male', 'descriptor': 'a 11-year-old boy'}; {'age': 16, 'gender': 'male', 'descriptor': 'a 16-year-old boy'}; {'age': 38, 'gender': 'female', 'descriptor': 'a woman'}; {'age': 16, 'gender': 'female', 'descriptor': 'a 16-year-old girl'}
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-2013-0004](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2013-0004)