CW-2000-0012Jind, HaryanaJudgment 31 March 2000

Narwana Man and Others vs State of Haryana and Others

The Punjab and Haryana High Court accepted a Sessions Judge's enquiry finding that a Narwana man, 41, was illegally arrested and murdered in the custody of Police Station Sadar Narwana on the night of 28-29 July 1996 by being given alcohol laced with aluminium phosphide. The court rejected the police and co-detainee accounts as unreliable, held the State vicariously liable under Nilabati Behera and D.K. Basu, and awarded Rs 1,50,000 compensation payable within two months. It transferred investigation of FIR No. 268 of 1996 under Section 302 IPC to the CBI for prosecution of the guilty, leaving individual culpability to that probe. Matters not addressed in the cited judgment text are not recorded here.

Externally reportedV2
What this record means

This page documents a court-adjudicated case from the judgment and cited sources below. Findings are attributed to the court; this record does not add findings of its own.

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Report card

By judgment dated 31 March 2000 in Criminal Writ Petition No. 1263 of 1996, the Punjab and Haryana High Court (Coram: K. S. Kumaran, J.) returned findings adverse to 4 police personnel, namely: Head Constable, Police Station Sadar Narwana; Assistant Sub-Inspector, Police Station Sadar Narwana; Station House Officer, Police Station Sadar Narwana; Deputy Superintendent of Police, Narwana, and directed payment of compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh (Rs 1,50,000).

Register number
HR 31 CW 0001
Case reference
Criminal Writ Petition No. 1263 of 1996 / (2000) 2 RCR (Criminal) 560
Court and date
Punjab and Haryana High Court (Coram: K. S. Kumaran, J.), 31 March 2000
Officer(s) at the material time
Head Constable, Police Station Sadar Narwana; Assistant Sub-Inspector, Police Station Sadar Narwana; Station House Officer, Police Station Sadar Narwana; Deputy Superintendent of Police, Narwana
Present service status
Not ascertained from the cited sources.
Provisions invoked
Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 61(1)(14) of the Excise Act; Article 21 of the Constitution of India; Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India
Finding of the Court (extract)
“Therefore, from the materials placed before the Court, especially the report of the Forensic Science Laboratory and the opinion of the Board of Doctors, who gave the opinion that a Narwana man died of aluminium phosphide (celphos) poisoning, it is …” (at para 23)
Verdict, sentence and quantum
Adverse finding + compensation. Sentence: compensation only. Compensation: Rs 1.5 lakh (Rs 1,50,000).
Present status of the proceedings
No further proceedings are recorded in the cited sources; the judgment is the concluded position shown.

Compiled from the judgment and the cited sources. Findings are those of the court; this card adds none of its own.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court judgment dated 31 March 2000 is the concluded position shown in the cited sources.

Recorded allegations

1
Custodial deathPrimary
Material fact supported

Reliable material supports a specifically documented fact relevant to that allegation, not necessarily the full allegation, causation, intent, unlawfulness, or responsibility.

Official finding: supports allegation.

What the court found

Holding not recorded separately.

“Therefore, from the materials placed before the Court, especially the report of the Forensic Science Laboratory and the opinion of the Board of Doctors, who gave the opinion that a Narwana man died of aluminium phosphide (celphos) poisoning, it is …” (para 23)

Institutional response

1
31 Mar 2000

Order issued

Concluded
Punjab and Haryana High Court External · Binding

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recorded adverse findings against police personnel and ordered Rs 150,000.

Compensation ordered · Supports allegation (for the compensated wrong only).
Source: (2000) 2 RCR (Criminal) 560
Not yet re-checked.

Follow-up history

1
19 Sep 2026

(Round-8 full re-verification: published record re-checked against the judgment text (outcome, officers, quote, key facts) plus methodology-compliance pass; skills-guided adversarial re-verification of the published record against the judgment text (reverify/t1-*/adversarial-8.jsonl))

Corrections (0): No corrections recorded.

Review: Solo Staff combined review (one combined attestation) — not yet recorded.

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