# Undhela (Matar) Police Police Inspector and Ors. vs State of Gujarat and Ors.

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2023-0031](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2023-0031)

## Report card

By judgment dated 19 October 2023 in R/Misc. Civil Application (for Contempt) No. 1067 of 2022, the Gujarat High Court (Coram: A. S. Supehia, Gita Gopi, JJ.) recorded the conviction of 4 police personnel, namely: Police Inspector, Kheda (Matar / SOG); Sub-Inspector, Kheda; Armed Head Constable, Kheda; Constable, Kheda.

- Register number: GJ 07 CW 0005
- Case reference: R/Misc. Civil Application (for Contempt) No. 1067 of 2022 / Neutral Citation C/MCA/1067/2022
- Court and date: Gujarat High Court (Coram: A. S. Supehia, Gita Gopi, JJ.), 19 October 2023
- Officer(s) at the material time: Police Inspector, Kheda (Matar / SOG); Sub-Inspector, Kheda; Armed Head Constable, Kheda; Constable, Kheda
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971
- Finding of the Court (extract): “We have already discussed the inhuman acts committed by the respondents on the complainants by violating the law declared by the Supreme Court. Looking to the over all facts and the manner, in which the incident has occurred and in …” (at para 32)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Conviction entered by High Court. Sentence: imprisonment and fine; maximum substantive term of 0.04 years.
- Present status of the proceedings: Supreme Court of India, 23 January 2024: appeal pending.
- Source orders: [Judgment / order (primary source)](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/67983953/); [Supreme Court of India order](https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/supreme-court-kheda-flogging-high-court-contempt-sentence-stay-proceedings-247428); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2023-0031)

**Record:** CW-2023-0031 (compiler id CWC-0134); case GUJARA-005
**Title:** Undhela (Matar) Police Police Inspector and Ors. vs State of Gujarat and Ors.
**Court:** Gujarat High Court; judges: A. S. Supehia; Gita Gopi
**Case number / citation:** R/Misc. Civil Application (for Contempt) No. 1067 of 2022 / Neutral Citation C/MCA/1067/2022
**Judgment:** 2023-10-19 (2023, day precision)
**Incident date:** 2022-10-04 (2022)
**Place:** Kheda, Gujarat; city town: Undhela (Matar); police station or unit: Matar Police Station / SOG, Kheda; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial torture
**Outcome:** Conviction entered by High Court (conviction_by_hc)
**Sections:** Contempt of Courts Act 1971
**Officers (gated display forms):** Police Inspector, Kheda (Matar / SOG); Sub-Inspector, Kheda; Armed Head Constable, Kheda; Constable, Kheda (4 in record)
**Victims:** Undhela man (5 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** mixed; max 0.04 yrs
**Sentence type:** mixed (mixed)

The Gujarat High Court held four Kheda police personnel guilty of contempt for tying five detained men to a pole at Undhela village chowk on 4 October 2022 and publicly flogging them, in violation of the D. K. Basu guidelines. The Court found the men had been kept overnight at the SOG police station, beaten in public view in an act that was videographed and widely circulated, with arrest shown only that night. It rejected the unconditional apology and sentenced each contemner to 14 days' simple imprisonment with a Rs 2,000 fine. The sentence directions were stayed for three months to allow appeal.

> We have already discussed the inhuman acts committed by the respondents on the complainants by violating the law declared by the Supreme Court. Looking to the over all facts and the manner, in which the incident has occurred and in light of the service rendered by the respondents in the Police department, in our considered opinion, the interest of justice would be served if the respondents are ordered sentence of undergoing simple imprisonment of 14 days and fine of Rs.2,000/- and in default, further simple imprisonment of 3 days.

**Sources (2):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/67983953/); [barandbench.com](https://www.barandbench.com/news/gujarat-high-court-finds-4-policemen-guilty-contempt-of-court-publicly-flogging-muslim-men)
**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:** 32
**display title redacted:** Undhela (Matar) Police Police Inspector and Ors. vs State of Gujarat 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': '2023-10-19', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Gujarat High Court', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Gujarat High Court entered convictions against police personnel in this judgment.', 'disposition': 'Conviction · Supports allegation', 'source': 'Neutral Citation C/MCA/1067/2022', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}; {'date': '2024-01-23', 'action_type': 'Appeal pending', 'status': 'Pending', 'authority': 'Supreme Court of India', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': "As of 23 January 2024, an appeal arising from this judgment was pending before the Supreme Court of India (officers: \[name withheld\], \[name withheld\], \[name withheld\], \[name withheld\]); the judgment's findings had not been set aside on that date.", 'disposition': 'Later proceeding · Appeal pending', 'source': 'https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/supreme-court-kheda-flogging-high-court-contempt-sentence-stay-proceedings-247428', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**later proceedings:** {'court': 'Supreme Court of India', 'date': '2024-01-23', 'url': 'https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/supreme-court-kheda-flogging-high-court-contempt-sentence-stay-proceedings-247428', 'outcome': 'pending_appeal'}
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/67983953/', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.barandbench.com/news/gujarat-high-court-finds-4-policemen-guilty-contempt-of-court-publicly-flogging-muslim-men', '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:** HC contempt conviction verified (14 days SI + Rs 2,000 fine each); HC stayed sentence 3 months; reported SC stay unverified.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Conviction entered by High Court.

[Open CW-2023-0031](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2023-0031)