Bengaluru stampede: Karnataka High Court issues notice to KSCA, RCB on plea

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday ordered notice to the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), Royal Challengers Bangalore and DNA Entertainment Private Limited in the suo motu PIL relating to the stampede at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in which 11 people lost their lives.

A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice V Kameshwar Rao and CM Joshi posted the matter to June 23 for further consideration.

During the hearing, Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty again prayed for time stating that the two inquiry proceedings; one-man commission and the magisterial inquiry, ordered by the state government are underway and the reports will be filed before the court.

At this juncture, advocates representing applicants seeking impleadment in the proceedings objected to submission of the status report in a sealed cover. The advocates said that it is in the larger public interest as to what is going on if the status report is made public.

Senior advocate SS Naganand, appearing for a family of the victims, cited apex court judgement against filing reports in sealed cover. He asked why the government is fighting shyly to keep the facts in the open. “This cat and mouse game is not going to help anybody. Suppose, for the sake of argument, any material filed for the perusal of the court, is completely a false statement, we will never know what submission made to the court. That is the reason why it (status report) should be disclosed,” he said.

The bench orally told the Advocate General to respond to the submissions made across the bar as to why the status report should be in a sealed cover. The court said that it will decide on appointing an amicus curiae to assist the court in the suo motu proceeding. The Advocate General submitted that while the documents filed along with the status report can be made public, the fact finding on the incident may prejudice the issue until the inquiry reports are submitted.

Meanwhile, another advocate GR Mohan, appearing for impleading applicant Geeta Misra, cited the order of the high court in another PIL restricting huge gatherings at any place within the Central Business District (CBD). He said that even after 15 days, the state government has not submitted as to the number of people in front of Vidhana Soudha and the roads leading to the stadium on June 4, the day of stampede.

Relief for RCB and DNA top brass

In a related development, a single bench presided over by Justice SR Krishna Kumar on Tuesday passed a conditional interim order granting relief to top officials of Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited (RCSPL) and DNA Entertainment Private Limited in the criminal proceeding pertaining to the stampede incident. The interim order was on the condition that the petitioners would co-operate in the ongoing investigation. The court has directed the police not to take any coercive/precipitative action.

Rajesh V Menon, Chief Operating Officer of (RCSPL) and Venkata Varadhana Thimkaiah, MD of DNA Entertainment Private Limited have challenged the FIRs registered by the Cubbon Park police. The petitioners contended that they have no role to play in the matter.