# State through Central Bureau of Investigation, Special Crime Branch, Mumbai v. Margao Police Inspector and others

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## Report card

By judgment dated 7 September 2017 in Criminal Appeal Nos. 1610-1611 of 2007, the Supreme Court of India (Coram: Ranjan Gogoi, Navin Sinha, JJ.) recorded the conviction of 2 police personnel, namely: Inspector, Margao Town Police Station; Constable, Margao Town Police Station.

- Register number: GA 02 CW 0001
- Case reference: Criminal Appeal Nos. 1610-1611 of 2007 / (2017) 16 SCC 54
- Court and date: Supreme Court of India (Coram: Ranjan Gogoi, Navin Sinha, JJ.), 7 September 2017
- Officer(s) at the material time: Inspector, Margao Town Police Station; Constable, Margao Town Police Station
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Section 304 Part II of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
- Finding of the Court (extract): “Having regard to the circumstances and the absence of any cogent explanation on the part of the accused respondents and taking into account the fact that the deceased was in Police custody and death had occurred in such custody, we …” (at para 12)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Conviction entered by Supreme Court. Sentence: imprisonment; maximum substantive term of 10 years.
- 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://api.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2005/23366/23366_2005_Order_07-Sep-2017.pdf); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2017-0032)

**Record:** CW-2017-0032 (compiler id CWC-0911); case GAP2-59-001
**Title:** State through Central Bureau of Investigation, Special Crime Branch, Mumbai v. Margao Police Inspector and others
**Court:** Supreme Court of India; judges: Ranjan Gogoi; Navin Sinha
**Case number / citation:** Criminal Appeal Nos. 1610-1611 of 2007 / (2017) 16 SCC 54
**Judgment:** 2017-09-07 (2017, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1994-05-17 (1994)
**Place:** South Goa, Goa; city town: Margao; police station or unit: Margao Town Police Station; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial death
**Outcome:** Conviction entered by Supreme Court (conviction_by_sc)
**Sections:** IPC 304 Part II; IPC 34
**Officers (gated display forms):** Inspector, Margao Town Police Station; Constable, Margao Town Police Station (2 in record)
**Victims:** Margao resident (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** imprisonment; max 10 yrs
**Sentence type:** imprisonment (imprisonment)

The judgment of the Supreme Court of India records the following account. A Margao resident, an accused in Crime No. 141/1994, was apprehended on the midnight of 16 May 1994 and brought healthy to Margao Town Police Station, where he was interrogated by Inspector and Constable and lodged in the lockup around 1:30 a.m. The Court recorded that he was brought dead to hospital at 2:40 a.m. with 14 ante-mortem injuries sufficient in the ordinary course to cause death. The trial court had convicted both officers under Section 304 Part II read with Section 34 IPC, but the Bombay High Court acquitted them. The Supreme Court held the alibi false, the custody records fudged, and the two officers responsible, setting aside the acquittal, convicting both, and imposing the maximum 10 years rigorous imprisonment each. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> Having regard to the circumstances and the absence of any cogent explanation on the part of the accused respondents and taking into account the fact that the deceased was in Police custody and death had occurred in such custody, we are of the view that it is the accused respondents (accused Nos.2 and 5) who, to the exclusion of any other persons, were responsible for the injuries that caused the death of the deceased \[name withheld\].

**Sources (3):** [api.sci.gov.in](https://api.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2005/23366/23366_2005_Order_07-Sep-2017.pdf); [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/160475685/); [casemine.com](https://www.casemine.com/judgement/in/5a65cbb54a9326332077a092)
**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:** 12
**display title redacted:** State through Central Bureau of Investigation, Special Crime Branch, Mumbai v. Margao Police Inspector and others
**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': '2017-09-07', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Supreme Court of India', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Supreme Court of India entered convictions against police personnel in this judgment.', 'disposition': 'Conviction · Supports allegation', 'source': '(2017) 16 SCC 54', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://api.sci.gov.in/supremecourt/2005/23366/23366_2005_Order_07-Sep-2017.pdf', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/160475685/', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.casemine.com/judgement/in/5a65cbb54a9326332077a092', '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:** SC reversed HC acquittal and convicted inspector and constable for 1994 custodial death.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Conviction entered by Supreme Court.

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