# Shirdi Boy v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2020-0011](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2020-0011)

## Report card

By judgment dated 26 November 2020 in Criminal Writ Petition No. 1548 of 2016, the Bombay High Court (Coram: T.V. Nalawade, Shrikant D. Kulkarni, JJ.) returned findings adverse to 7 police personnel, namely: Police Naik (B.No. 450), Shirdi Police Station; Police Naik (B.No. 1118), Shirdi Police Station; Police Station Officer (B.No. 745), Shirdi Police Station; Police Naik (B.No. 2132), Shirdi Police Station; Police Naik (B.No. 1920), Shirdi Police Station; Policeman, Sai temple security, Shirdi; Police Naik (B.No. 1246), Sai temple security, Shirdi, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 5 lakh (Rs 5,00,000).

- Register number: MH 16 CW 0010
- Case reference: Criminal Writ Petition No. 1548 of 2016
- Court and date: Bombay High Court (Coram: T.V. Nalawade, Shrikant D. Kulkarni, JJ.), 26 November 2020
- Officer(s) at the material time: Police Naik (B.No. 450), Shirdi Police Station; Police Naik (B.No. 1118), Shirdi Police Station; Police Station Officer (B.No. 745), Shirdi Police Station; Police Naik (B.No. 2132), Shirdi Police Station; Police Naik (B.No. 1920), Shirdi Police Station; Policeman, Sai temple security, Shirdi; Police Naik (B.No. 1246), Sai temple security, Shirdi
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Article 21 of the Constitution of India; Article 22 of the Constitution of India
- Finding of the Court (extract): “No enquiry was conducted about the age of \[a 16-year-old boy\], whether he was juvenile and straightway put up him in the lock up which unfortunately resulted into his custodial death.” (at para 17)
- 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://hindi.livelaw.in/pdf_upload/pdf_upload-385931.pdf); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2020-0011)

**Record:** CW-2020-0011 (compiler id CWC-0765); case MAHARA-011; aliases: CWC-0252
**Title:** Shirdi Boy v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.
**Court:** Bombay High Court; bench: Aurangabad; judges: T.V. Nalawade; Shrikant D. Kulkarni
**Case number / citation:** Criminal Writ Petition No. 1548 of 2016
**Judgment:** 2020-11-26 (2020, day precision)
**Incident date:** 2016-03-31 (2016)
**Place:** Ahilyanagar, Maharashtra (district at time: Ahmednagar); city town: Shirdi; police station or unit: Shirdi Police Station; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial death
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Sections:** Constitution Art 21; Constitution Art 22
**Officers (gated display forms):** Police Naik (B.No. 450), Shirdi Police Station; Police Naik (B.No. 1118), Shirdi Police Station; Police Station Officer (B.No. 745), Shirdi Police Station; Police Naik (B.No. 2132), Shirdi Police Station; Police Naik (B.No. 1920), Shirdi Police Station; Policeman, Sai temple security, Shirdi; Police Naik (B.No. 1246), Sai temple security, Shirdi (7 in record)
**Victims:** Shirdi boy, age 16 (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 5 lakh (Rs 5,00,000)
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The Bombay High Court (Aurangabad Bench) held that about-16-year-old a 16-year-old boy, picked up on suspicion of pick-pocketing at the Sai temple on 31-03-2016 and put in the Shirdi police lock-up without age enquiry, arrest panchnama or intimation to parents, died in the lock-up the same day. The court concluded it was a case of custodial death at the hands of Shirdi police officials in violation of Article 21 and the D.K. Basu safeguards, rejecting the State's denial of liability. It left the homicidal-versus-suicidal question and the Section 302 prayer to the trial court in Crime 235/2016 (charge-sheet filed against five officers). The court directed the State to deposit Rs 5 lakh ex gratia compensation in court within 45 days (8% interest on default) for equal division between the parents, with liberty to recover from the erring officials once liability is fastened. The officers were charge-sheeted in Crime No. 235 of 2016 at Shirdi Police Station; the court left individual guilt and the homicidal-versus-suicidal question to the trial, recording no finding against any individual. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> No enquiry was conducted about the age of \[a 16-year-old boy\], whether he was juvenile and straightway put up him in the lock up which unfortunately resulted into his custodial death.

**Sources (4):** [hindi.livelaw.in](https://hindi.livelaw.in/pdf_upload/pdf_upload-385931.pdf); [livelaw.in](https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/custodial-death-torture-16yr-old-boy-bombay-high-court-5-lakh-compensation-shirdi-police-cctv-167211); [the-laws.com](https://www.the-laws.com/Encyclopedia/Browse/Case?CaseId=310202808300&Title=ASHOK-KONDAJI-ROKADE-Vs.-STATE-OF-MAHARASHTRA); [livelaw.in](https://www.livelaw.in/pdf_upload/pdf_upload-385901.pdf)
**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:** True
**court quote para:** 17
**display title redacted:** Shirdi Boy v. State of Maharashtra & 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': '2020-11-26', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Bombay High Court', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Bombay High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 500,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': 'Criminal Writ Petition No. 1548 of 2016', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://hindi.livelaw.in/pdf_upload/pdf_upload-385931.pdf', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.livelaw.in/news-updates/custodial-death-torture-16yr-old-boy-bombay-high-court-5-lakh-compensation-shirdi-police-cctv-167211', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.the-laws.com/Encyclopedia/Browse/Case?CaseId=310202808300&Title=ASHOK-KONDAJI-ROKADE-Vs.-STATE-OF-MAHARASHTRA', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.livelaw.in/pdf_upload/pdf_upload-385901.pdf', '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:** Bombay HC (Aurangabad) held custodial death at Shirdi PS; Rs 5L ex gratia to parents.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**victims redacted:** {'age': 16, 'gender': 'male', 'descriptor': 'a 16-year-old boy'}
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-2020-0011](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2020-0011)