# Cachar Man vs The State Of Assam And 17 Ors

HTML version: [https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0092](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0092)

## Report card

By judgment dated 17 September 2026 in WP(C)/4329/2015, the The Gauhati High Court (High Court of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh) (Coram: Kalyan Rai Surana, Susmita Phukan Khaund, JJ.) returned findings adverse to the Officer-in-Charge, Katigorah Police Station / Kalain Patrol Post, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 5 lakh (Rs 5,00,000).

- Register number: AS 11 CW 0003
- Case reference: WP(C)/4329/2015 / 2026:GAU-AS:13808-DB
- Court and date: The Gauhati High Court (High Court of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh) (Coram: Kalyan Rai Surana, Susmita Phukan Khaund, JJ.), 17 September 2026
- Officer(s) at the material time: Officer-in-Charge, Katigorah Police Station / Kalain Patrol Post
- Present service status: Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked: 147/148/149/353/336/323; 448/325/506/354/302/34
- Finding of the Court (extract): “Thus, the arrest of Md. \[name withheld\], since deceased, was illegal” (at para Para 11)
- 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://indiankanoon.org/doc/39934608/); [Permanent link to this record](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0092)

**Record:** CW-2026-0092 (compiler id CWC-1377); case cop-as-hc-0
**Title:** Cachar Man vs The State Of Assam And 17 Ors
**Court:** The Gauhati High Court (High Court of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh); judges: Kalyan Rai Surana; Susmita Phukan Khaund
**Case number / citation:** WP(C)/4329/2015 / 2026:GAU-AS:13808-DB
**Judgment:** 2026-09-17 (2026, day precision)
**Incident date:** 2012-07-07 (2012)
**Place:** Cachar, Assam; police station or unit: Katigorah Police Station; Kalain Patrol Post; force: state_police
**Category:** Violence & unlawful detention
**Sub-category:** custodial death
**Outcome:** Adverse finding + compensation (adverse_finding_compensation)
**Sections:** 147/148/149/353/336/323; 448/325/506/354/302/34
**Officers (gated display forms):** Officer-in-Charge, Katigorah Police Station / Kalain Patrol Post (1 in record)
**Victims:** Cachar man (1 in record)
**Sentence / compensation:** compensation only; Rs 5 lakh (Rs 5,00,000)
**Sentence type:** compensation only (compensation_only)

The High Court held that the arrest of the 60-year-old man picked up after midnight was illegal. The High Court held that the man had died while in illegal police custody after being taken to Kalain Patrol Post. The High Court directed the State to pay Rs.5,00,000 as palliative compensation to the petitioner for distribution among the heirs. The High Court left criminal liability arising from the related case to the trial court and allowed the State to recover from officials found at fault.

> Thus, the arrest of Md. \[name withheld\], since deceased, was illegal

**Sources (1):** [indiankanoon.org](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/39934608/)
**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:** Para 11
**display title redacted:** Cachar Man vs The State Of Assam And 17 Ors
**followup history:** {'date': '2026-09-24', 'scope': 'Swarm scout and independent verification pass (Muse Spark).'}
**followup status:** checked
**institutional response:** {'date': '2026-09-17', 'action_type': 'Order issued', 'status': 'Concluded', 'authority': 'The Gauhati High Court (High Court of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh)', 'independence': 'External', 'legal_effect': 'Binding', 'description': 'The The Gauhati High Court (High Court of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh) recorded adverse findings against police personnel.', 'disposition': 'adverse finding compensation', 'source': '2026:GAU-AS:13808-DB', 'recheck': 'Not yet re-checked.'}
**last checked:** 2026-09-24
**link checked per url:** {'url': 'https://indiankanoon.org/doc/39934608/', '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:** The judgment is verified: Gauhati High Court (Surana & Phukan Khaund JJ.), WP(C)/4329/2015, decided 17.09.2026, Cachar district; illegal-arrest quote is verbatim at para 11; death-in-police-custody finding at paras 13/21; compensation Rs.5,00,000 confirmed. However, the officers field records role 'held_liable', which the judgment does not support: the Court did NOT hold any named officer liable (it expressly left criminal liability to the pending complaint case and only gave the State liberty to recover from officials found guilty in departmental proceedings). The rank/unit (Officer-in-Charge, Katigorah PS / Kalain Patrol Post) is accurate, but the role must be corrected.
**verification badge:** V2 · Externally reported
**verification status:** V2
**watch:** babuwatch

Status: Adverse finding + compensation.

[Open CW-2026-0092](https://datalibertarian.in/babuwatch/incident/CW-2026-0092)