# State of Punjab vs Harbhajan Singh and Others

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2024-0014](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2024-0014)

## Report card

By judgment dated 23 August 2024 in CRA-D-307-DBA-2004 with CRA-S-1071-SB-2003 and CRR-1952-2003, the Punjab and Haryana High Court (Coram: Sureshwar Thakur, Sudeepti Sharma, JJ.) recorded the conviction of 4 police personnel, namely: Gursewak Singh (Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)); Harbhajan Singh (Station House Officer (SHO)); Kirpal Singh (Head Constable); Jaswant Singh (Head Constable).

- Register number: PB 13 CW 0004
- Case reference: CRA-D-307-DBA-2004 with CRA-S-1071-SB-2003 and CRR-1952-2003 / 2024:PHHC:109434-DB
- Court and date: Punjab and Haryana High Court (Coram: Sureshwar Thakur, Sudeepti Sharma, JJ.), 23 August 2024
- Officer(s) at the material time: Gursewak Singh (Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)); Harbhajan Singh (Station House Officer (SHO)); Kirpal Singh (Head Constable); Jaswant Singh (Head Constable)
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 343 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 325 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 324 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
- Finding of the Court (extract): “Consequently after allowing the instant appeal/revision respectively filed by the State of Punjab and the complainant, this Court quashes the impugned verdict of acquittal, as made by the learned trial Judge concerned, wherethrough, he made a finding of acquittal in …” (at para 35)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Conviction entered by High Court. Sentence: imprisonment.
- Present status of the proceedings: Supreme Court of India, 19 December 2024: appeal pending.
- Source orders: [Judgment / order (primary source)](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/24959113/); [Supreme Court of India order](https://www.casemine.com/judgement/in/6764b0aa1c45974c767b06fa); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2024-0014)

**Record:** CW-2024-0014 (compiler id CWC-0298); case PUNJAB-002; aliases: CWC-0524
**Title:** State of Punjab vs Harbhajan Singh and Others
**Court:** Punjab and Haryana High Court; judges: Sureshwar Thakur; Sudeepti Sharma
**Case number / citation:** CRA-D-307-DBA-2004 with CRA-S-1071-SB-2003 and CRR-1952-2003 / 2024:PHHC:109434-DB
**Judgment:** 2024-08-23 (2024, day precision)
**Incident date:** 1995-12-07 (1995)
**Place:** Sangrur, Punjab; city town: Sangrur; police station or unit: Railway Police, Sangrur; force: railway
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial death
**Outcome:** Conviction entered by High Court (conviction_by_hc)
**Sections:** IPC 302; IPC 34; IPC 343; IPC 325; IPC 324; IPC 323
**Officers (gated display forms):** Gursewak Singh (Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)); Harbhajan Singh (Station House Officer (SHO)); Kirpal Singh (Head Constable); Jaswant Singh (Head Constable) (4 in record)
**Victims:** Sangrur man (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** imprisonment
**Sentence type:** imprisonment (imprisonment)

A Sangrur man was abducted from his village home on 14 November 1995 by Railway Police, held for 9 days and brutally tortured with danda blows to the head, rib injuries and near-drowning, released in a crippled state, and died in PGI Chandigarh on 7 December 1995 of ante-mortem injuries sufficient to cause death. The trial court acquitted all of murder, convicting only for hurt and confinement, and cleared the DSP entirely. The Punjab and Haryana High Court credited co-detainee Baghel Singh's inculpatory account over his hostile resiling, which it held was induced by DSP pressure, along with the post-mortem evidence. Reversing the acquittal, it convicted all four, including the DSP, under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC, with life sentences for the present accused and a separate sentence hearing for the others. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> Consequently after allowing the instant appeal/revision respectively filed by the State of Punjab and the complainant, this Court quashes the impugned verdict of acquittal, as made by the learned trial Judge concerned, wherethrough, he made a finding of acquittal in respect a charge drawn for an offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the IPC, and modifies the same to the extent that all the accused are held guilty for an offence punishable under Section 302 read with Section 34 of the IPC, in addition to the offence(s) for which respondents No.1 to 3 stand already convicted.

**Sources (3):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/24959113/); [livelaw.in](https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/punjab-and-haryana-high-court/punjab-haryana-high-court-convicts-dsp-in-1995-custodial-death-case-268832); [livelaw.in](https://www.livelaw.in/pdf_upload/cra-d307-dba200423082024finalorder-2-559809.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:** False
**court quote para:** 35
**display title redacted:** State of Punjab vs Harbhajan Singh 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': '2024-08-23', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Punjab and Haryana High Court', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Punjab and Haryana High Court entered convictions against police personnel in this judgment.', 'disposition': 'Conviction · Supports allegation', 'source': '2024:PHHC:109434-DB', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}; {'date': '2024-12-19', 'action_type': 'Appeal pending', 'status': 'Pending', 'authority': 'Supreme Court of India', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': "As of 19 December 2024, an appeal arising from this judgment was pending before the Supreme Court of India (officers: Gursewak Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Jaswant Singh, Kirpal Singh); the judgment's findings had not been set aside on that date.", 'disposition': 'Later proceeding · Appeal pending', 'source': 'https://www.casemine.com/judgement/in/6764b0aa1c45974c767b06fa', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**later proceedings:** {'court': 'Supreme Court of India', 'date': '2024-12-19', 'url': 'https://www.casemine.com/judgement/in/6764b0aa1c45974c767b06fa', 'outcome': 'pending_appeal'}
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/24959113/', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/punjab-and-haryana-high-court/punjab-haryana-high-court-convicts-dsp-in-1995-custodial-death-case-268832', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://www.livelaw.in/pdf_upload/cra-d307-dba200423082024finalorder-2-559809.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:** Acquittal reversed; DSP and 3 railway police convicted of murder under s.302/34.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Conviction entered by High Court.

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