23 Aug 2024
Order issued
ConcludedThe Punjab and Haryana High Court entered convictions against police personnel in this judgment.
Conviction · Supports allegation.
Source: 2024:PHHC:109434-DB
Not yet re-checked.
CW-2024-0014Sangrur, PunjabJudgment 23 August 2024
State of Punjab vs Harbhajan Singh and Others
A Sangrur man was abducted from his village home on 14 November 1995 by Railway Police, held for 9 days and brutally tortured with danda blows to the head, rib injuries and near-drowning, released in a crippled state, and died in PGI Chandigarh on 7 December 1995 of ante-mortem injuries sufficient to cause death. The trial court acquitted all of murder, convicting only for hurt and confinement, and cleared the DSP entirely. The Punjab and Haryana High Court credited co-detainee Baghel Singh's inculpatory account over his hostile resiling, which it held was induced by DSP pressure, along with the post-mortem evidence. Reversing the acquittal, it convicted all four, including the DSP, under Section 302 read with Section 34 IPC, with life sentences for the present accused and a separate sentence hearing for the others. 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.
How verification works →Detailed record
Report card
By judgment dated 23 August 2024 in CRA-D-307-DBA-2004 with CRA-S-1071-SB-2003 and CRR-1952-2003, the Punjab and Haryana High Court (Coram: Sureshwar Thakur, Sudeepti Sharma, JJ.) recorded the conviction of 4 police personnel, namely: Gursewak Singh (Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)); Harbhajan Singh (Station House Officer (SHO)); Kirpal Singh (Head Constable); Jaswant Singh (Head Constable).
- Register number
- PB 13 CW 0004
- Case reference
- CRA-D-307-DBA-2004 with CRA-S-1071-SB-2003 and CRR-1952-2003 / 2024:PHHC:109434-DB
- Court and date
- Punjab and Haryana High Court (Coram: Sureshwar Thakur, Sudeepti Sharma, JJ.), 23 August 2024
- Officer(s) at the material time
- Gursewak Singh (Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP)); Harbhajan Singh (Station House Officer (SHO)); Kirpal Singh (Head Constable); Jaswant Singh (Head Constable)
- Present service status
- Not ascertained from the cited sources.
- Provisions invoked
- Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 343 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 325 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 324 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860; Section 323 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860
- Finding of the Court (extract)
- “Consequently after allowing the instant appeal/revision respectively filed by the State of Punjab and the complainant, this Court quashes the impugned verdict of acquittal, as made by the learned trial Judge concerned, wherethrough, he made a finding of acquittal in …” (at para 35)
- Verdict, sentence and quantum
- Conviction entered by High Court. Sentence: imprisonment.
- Present status of the proceedings
- Supreme Court of India, 19 December 2024: appeal pending.
Compiled from the judgment and the cited sources. Findings are those of the court; this card adds none of its own.
Current position
The Punjab and Haryana High Court judgment dated 23 August 2024 is the concluded position shown in the cited sources.
Evidence position
Recorded allegations
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.
Attributed to the court
What the court found
Holding not recorded separately.
“Consequently after allowing the instant appeal/revision respectively filed by the State of Punjab and the complainant, this Court quashes the impugned verdict of acquittal, as made by the learned trial Judge concerned, wherethrough, he made a finding of acquittal in …” (para 35)
Separate from verification
Institutional response
19 Dec 2024
Appeal pending
PendingAs of 19 December 2024, an appeal arising from this judgment was pending before the Supreme Court of India (officers: Gursewak Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Jaswant Singh, Kirpal Singh); the judgment's findings had not been set aside on that date.
Source: Casemine Com
Not yet re-checked.
Continuing record
Follow-up history
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.