# Mallarpur Boy vs State of West Bengal & Ors; Court on its own motion, In Re: Unnatural death of a teenaged boy in Mallarpur P. S., District - Birbhum

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2023-0007](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2023-0007)

## Report card

By judgment dated 4 April 2023 in WPA (P) 9 of 2020 with WPA (P) 13 of 2020, the Calcutta High Court (Coram: T. S. Sivagnanam, Hiranmay Bhattacharyya, JJ.) returned findings adverse to the accused police personnel, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 15 lakh (Rs 15,00,000).

- Register number: WB 45 CW 0001
- Case reference: WPA (P) 9 of 2020 with WPA (P) 13 of 2020 / 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 107
- Court and date: Calcutta High Court (Coram: T. S. Sivagnanam, Hiranmay Bhattacharyya, JJ.), 4 April 2023
- Officer(s) at the material time: Not identified in the cited sources (Mallarpur Police Station)
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Article 226 of the Constitution of India; Section 10 of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015; Rule 8 of the West Bengal Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2017
- Finding of the Court (extract): “On going through the reports and the factual matrix, we find that there is a sorry state of affairs in which a young boy of 15 years died in police custody.” (at para 2)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 15 lakh (Rs 15,00,000).
- 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/76171503/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2023-0007)

**Record:** CW-2023-0007 (compiler id CWC-0424); case WESTBE-001
**Title:** Mallarpur Boy vs State of West Bengal & Ors; Court on its own motion, In Re: Unnatural death of a teenaged boy in Mallarpur P. S., District - Birbhum
**Court:** Calcutta High Court; judges: T. S. Sivagnanam; Hiranmay Bhattacharyya
**Case number / citation:** WPA (P) 9 of 2020 with WPA (P) 13 of 2020 / 2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 107
**Judgment:** 2023-04-04 (2023, day precision)
**Incident date:** 2020-10-29 (2020)
**Place:** Birbhum, West Bengal; city town: Mallarpur; police station or unit: Mallarpur Police Station; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial death
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Sections:** Constitution of India Art. 226; Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015 s.10; West Bengal Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules 2017 Rule 8
**Officers (gated display forms):** None named (0 in record)
**Victims:** Mallarpur boy, age 15 (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 15 lakh (Rs 15,00,000)
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The Calcutta High Court, hearing a PIL alongside a suo motu writ petition, adjudicated the unnatural death of a 15-year-old boy in the custody of Mallarpur Police Station, Birbhum in October 2020. Finding that the minor had been kept in police lockup in direct violation of the Juvenile and the West Bengal Juvenile, 2017, the Court termed the incident a "sorry state of affairs." The Court observed that the internal disciplinary punishment imposed on the stationed police personnel—stoppage of annual increment for one year—was thoroughly inadequate considering the gravity of the charge. The Division Bench directed the Government of West Bengal to pay Rs. 15 lakh compensation to the victim boy's family within 15 days and issued binding directions for statewide police sensitization. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> On going through the reports and the factual matrix, we find that there is a sorry state of affairs in which a young boy of 15 years died in police custody.

**Sources (2):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/76171503/); [livelaw.in](https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/calcutta-high-court-state-govt-pay-15-lakh-compensation-family-teenager-died-police-custody-226477)
**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:** 2
**display title redacted:** Mallarpur Boy vs State of West Bengal & Ors; Court on its own motion, In Re: Unnatural death of a teenaged boy in Mallarpur P. S., District - Birbhum
**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': '2023-04-04', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Calcutta High Court', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Calcutta High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 1,500,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': '2023 LiveLaw (Cal) 107', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/76171503/', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/calcutta-high-court-state-govt-pay-15-lakh-compensation-family-teenager-died-police-custody-226477', '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:** Calcutta High Court found 15-year-old died in Mallarpur PS custody, condemned inadequate departmental punishment, and ordered Rs. 15 lakh compensation.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-2023-0007](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2023-0007)