# Delhi Man v. State (W.P.(C) 3476/2013)

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2025-0074](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2025-0074)

## Report card

By judgment dated 12 June 2025 in W.P.(C) 3476/2013, the High Court of Delhi (Coram: Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, J.) returned findings adverse to the Jail Officials, Tihar Jail, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 3 lakh (Rs 3,00,000).

- Register number: DL 00 CW 0033
- Case reference: W.P.(C) 3476/2013 / 2025:DHC:XXXX
- Court and date: High Court of Delhi (Coram: Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, J.), 12 June 2025
- Officer(s) at the material time: Jail Officials, Tihar Jail
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: Section 357A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973; Delhi Victim Compensation Scheme 2018; Article 21 of the Constitution of India
- Finding of the Court (extract): “A prisoner, whether convict or undertrial, retains all his fundamental rights, including the right to life under Article 21. The State cannot abdicate its responsibility merely because the deceased had criminal antecedents. Compensation for custodial death is not charity, it …” (at para 18)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum: Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 3 lakh (Rs 3,00,000).
- 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://delhihighcourt.nic.in/app/showFileJudgment/68012062025CW34762013_211156.pdf); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2025-0074)

**Record:** CW-2025-0074 (compiler id CWC-1374); case cop-dl-hc-7
**Title:** Delhi Man v. State (W.P.(C) 3476/2013)
**Court:** High Court of Delhi; judges: Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar
**Case number / citation:** W.P.(C) 3476/2013 / 2025:DHC:XXXX
**Judgment:** 2025-06-12 (2025, day precision)
**Incident date:** 2013-05-03 (2013)
**Place:** Delhi, Delhi; police station or unit: Tihar Jail; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial death
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Sections:** 357A CrPC; Delhi Victim Compensation Scheme 2018; Article 21
**Officers (gated display forms):** Jail Officials, Tihar Jail (1 in record)
**Victims:** Delhi man (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 3 lakh (Rs 3,00,000)
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The High Court awarded compensation for the custodial death of an undertrial prisoner killed in a gang fight in Tihar Jail, holding that the State's duty to protect prisoners' lives under Article 21 is absolute. The Court expanded the definition of 'dependents' under the Delhi Victim Compensation Scheme to include siblings and grandchildren, ruling that marital status of daughters does not affect entitlement. The Court directed immediate payment of ₹2 lakh (difference from NHRC's interim ₹1 lakh) and ordered DSLSA to determine further compensation up to ₹10 lakh.

> A prisoner, whether convict or undertrial, retains all his fundamental rights, including the right to life under Article 21. The State cannot abdicate its responsibility merely because the deceased had criminal antecedents. Compensation for custodial death is not charity, it is a constitutional right.

**Sources (2):** [delhihighcourt.nic.in](https://delhihighcourt.nic.in/app/showFileJudgment/68012062025CW34762013_211156.pdf); [lawyerenews.com](https://lawyerenews.com/legal_detail/custodial-death-right-to-compensation-flows-from-article-21-irrespective-of-conviction-or-acquittal-delhi-high-court)
**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:** 18
**display title redacted:** Delhi Man v. State (W.P.(C) 3476/2013)
**followup history:** {'date': '2026-09-24', 'scope': 'Swarm scout and independent verification pass (Muse Spark).'}
**followup status:** checked
**institutional response:** {'date': '2025-06-12', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'High Court of Delhi', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The High Court of Delhi recorded adverse findings against police personnel.', 'disposition': 'adverse finding compensation', 'source': '2025:DHC:XXXX', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-24
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://delhihighcourt.nic.in/app/showFileJudgment/68012062025CW34762013_211156.pdf', 'link_checked': None}; {'url': 'https://lawyerenews.com/legal_detail/custodial-death-right-to-compensation-flows-from-article-21-irrespective-of-conviction-or-acquittal-delhi-high-court', '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:** Judge is wrong: the judgment was delivered by Hon'ble Justice Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, not \[name withheld\].; court_quote (para 18) could not be verified verbatim: confirmed phrases include 'it is the bounden duty of the State to ensure the safety of persons who are in its custody' and Article 21 propositions, but the exact sentence 'Compensation for custodial death is not charity, it is a constitutional right' was not confirmed in the extract.; Rest verified: W.P.(C) 3476/2013, decision 12-06-2025, petitioner \[name withheld\] (mother, later substituted by legal representatives), deceased \[name withheld\] who died 03-05-2013 in Tihar Jail, NHRC interim Rs 1 lakh already paid, DVCS 2018 range Rs 3-10 lakh, dependents include siblings/grandchildren, State vicariously liable.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-2025-0074](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2025-0074)