# Dhamtari Man v. State of Chhattisgarh

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2025-0033](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2025-0033)

## Report card

By judgment dated 6 October 2025 in WPCR No. 373 of 2025, the Chhattisgarh High Court (Coram: Ramesh Sinha, Bibhu Datta Guru, JJ.) returned findings adverse to the SHO, PS Arjuni, Dhamtari, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 5 lakh (Rs 5,00,000).

- Register number: CG 05 CW 0001
- Case reference: WPCR No. 373 of 2025 / 2025:CGHC:49571-DB
- Court and date: Chhattisgarh High Court (Coram: Ramesh Sinha, Bibhu Datta Guru, JJ.), 6 October 2025
- Officer(s) at the material time: SHO, PS Arjuni, Dhamtari
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Not stated in the cited sources
- Finding of the Court (extract): “These circumstances leave no manner of doubt that the death was not natural but the result of custodial violence and police atrocities, in complete breach of the guarantee under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.” (at para 28)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 5 lakh (Rs 5,00,000).
- Present status of the proceedings: The judgment is recent and may be subject to appeal; the pendency of an appeal is not a finding.
- Source orders: [Judgment / order (primary source)](https://lawtrend.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025_oct_17170_1_2025_10_06.pdf); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2025-0033)

**Record:** CW-2025-0033 (compiler id CWC-0753); case GAP12-002; aliases: CWC-0670
**Title:** Dhamtari Man v. State of Chhattisgarh
**Court:** Chhattisgarh High Court; judges: Ramesh Sinha; Bibhu Datta Guru
**Case number / citation:** WPCR No. 373 of 2025 / 2025:CGHC:49571-DB
**Judgment:** 2025-10-06 (2025, day precision)
**Incident date:** 2025-03-31 (2025)
**Place:** Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh; police station or unit: PS Arjuni; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial death
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Officers (gated display forms):** SHO, PS Arjuni, Dhamtari (1 in record)
**Victims:** Dhamtari man, age 41 (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 5 lakh (Rs 5,00,000)
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The judgment of the Chhattisgarh High Court records the following account. The Division Bench allowed the writ petition of Durga Devi Katholiya, holding the State liable for the custodial death of her 41-year-old husband \[name withheld\] at PS Arjuni, Dhamtari. The court found he was hale and hearty when produced before the CJM at 5 p.m. on 31 March 2025 but was declared dead three hours later with 24 ante-mortem injuries, the cause of death being asphyxia. It held the death was the result of custodial violence and police atrocities in breach of Article 21, and directed Rs 3 lakh to the widow (for herself and two minor children) and Rs 1 lakh each to the parents within eight weeks, with 9% interest on default. The court also directed sensitisation of police personnel and strict adherence to the D.K. Basu guidelines. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

> These circumstances leave no manner of doubt that the death was not natural but the result of custodial violence and police atrocities, in complete breach of the guarantee under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.

**Sources (2):** [lawtrend.in](https://lawtrend.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025_oct_17170_1_2025_10_06.pdf); [english.dainikjagranmpcg.com](https://english.dainikjagranmpcg.com/states/chhattisgarh/high-court’s-landmark-decision-state-held-responsible-for-death-in/article-6131)
**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:** 28
**display title redacted:** Dhamtari Man v. State of Chhattisgarh
**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': \['court_quote_para', 'officers'\]}
**followup status:** checked
**institutional response:** {'date': '2025-10-06', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'Chhattisgarh High Court', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The Chhattisgarh High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 500,000.', 'disposition': 'Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only)', 'source': '2025:CGHC:49571-DB', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-19
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://lawtrend.in/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025_oct_17170_1_2025_10_06.pdf', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://english.dainikjagranmpcg.com/states/chhattisgarh/high-court’s-landmark-decision-state-held-responsible-for-death-in/article-6131', '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:** HC held death result of custodial violence; Rs 5 lakh compensation to family.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-2025-0033](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2025-0033)