State v. Puducherry Police Puducherry Police (rank not stated) & Anr (Puducherry Man @ Puducherry Man custodial death, 1993); SC No. 11/1995
The Court of Additional Sessions Judge, Pondicherry (SC No. 11/1995, Cr. No. 333/1993 Odiansalai PS) on 24 June 2002 convicted six Puducherry policemen and a government doctor for the custodial beating to death of a Puducherry man @ a Puducherry man, brought to Odiansalai police station for interrogation on 29 December 1993, manhandled and brutally injured by the police accused and declared dead at hospital; the prosecution case turned on discrepancies between the first post-mortem (shock due to haemorrhage from cirrhotic varices, only two injuries noted) and a second autopsy (shock from multiple blunt-instrument injuries). Three policemen received seven years RI each and three policemen plus the doctor one year RI each; one policeman died during trial and three were acquitted. The Madras High Court (Justice M.V. Muralidaran, common judgment 29 October 2018 in Crl.A. No. 1051 of 2002 batch) upheld the convictions, and the Supreme Court (Justice Nagarathna, Crl.A. No. 17 of 2019, 17 September 2025) kept the doctor's conviction while modifying his sentence to a fine. Officer names, ranks and exact sections need the HC judgment or trial records.
This page documents a trial-court conviction from the cited sources below. It is not a High Court or Supreme Court finding; the conviction may have been appealed. Findings are attributed to the convicting court; this record does not add findings of its own.
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By judgment dated 24 June 2002, the Court of Additional Sessions Judge, Pondicherry (SC No. 11/1995) convicted 6 police personnel, namely: Puducherry Police (rank not stated), Odiansalai Police Station, Pondicherry; Puducherry Police (rank not stated), Odiansalai Police Station, Pondicherry; Puducherry Police (rank not stated), Odiansalai Police Station, Pondicherry; Puducherry Police (rank not stated), Odiansalai Police Station, Pondicherry; Puducherry Police (rank not stated), Odiansalai Police Station, Pondicherry; Puducherry Police (rank not stated), Odiansalai Police Station, Pondicherry.
- Register number
- PY 01 CW 0002
- Case reference
- SC No. 11/1995; reported in the judgment of the Court of II Additional Sessions Judge, Puducherry
- Court and date
- The Court of Additional Sessions Judge, Pondicherry (SC No. 11/1995), 24 June 2002
- Officer(s) at the material time
- Puducherry Police (rank not stated), Odiansalai Police Station, Pondicherry; Puducherry Police (rank not stated), Odiansalai Police Station, Pondicherry; Puducherry Police (rank not stated), Odiansalai Police Station, Pondicherry; Puducherry Police (rank not stated), Odiansalai Police Station, Pondicherry; Puducherry Police (rank not stated), Odiansalai Police Station, Pondicherry; Puducherry Police (rank not stated), Odiansalai Police Station, Pondicherry
- Present service status
- Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked
- Section 304 Part II (A-2, A-3, A-4; affirmed by SC) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 201 Part II read with Section 34 (A-7, A-8; set aside by SC 17.09.2025) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; A-6 tea-shop owner (civilian, not police; conviction set aside by SC); Section 201 Part II (A-11 doctor; conviction kept, sentence modified to Rs 1,00,000 fine) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
- Finding of the Court (extract)
- “he was manhandled and brutally injured by accused Nos.1 to 4 police officers, due to which he sustained injuries. He was declared dead on being brought to the hospital.”
- Verdict, sentence and quantum
- Conviction recorded by the trial court. Sentence: 3 policemen: 7 years RI each; 3 policemen: 1 year RI each (doctor A-11: 1 year RI, later modified by Supreme Court to Rs 1,00,000 fine)
- Present status of the proceedings
- The conviction was affirmed in appeal.
Compiled from the judgment and the cited sources. Findings are those of the court; this card adds none of its own.
Court of Additional Sessions Judge, Pondicherry (SC No. 11/1995) convicted the accused police personnel on 24 June 2002. The conviction was upheld on appeal. Appeal text.
Sentence & charges
Sentence: 3 policemen: 7 years RI each; 3 policemen: 1 year RI each (doctor A-11: 1 year RI, later modified by Supreme Court to Rs 1,00,000 fine)
Sections: IPC 304 Part II (A-2, A-3, A-4; affirmed by SC); IPC 201 Part II r/w 34 (A-7, A-8; set aside by SC 17.09.2025); A-6 tea-shop owner (civilian, not police; conviction set aside by SC); IPC 201 Part II (A-11 doctor; conviction kept, sentence modified to Rs 1,00,000 fine)
Appeal status
Upheld on appeal. Appeal text