Chinnaswamy stampede | Karnataka High Court grants protection from arrest to KSCA officials

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Friday granted conditional interim relief to three office bearers of the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) in the FIRs registered by the Cubbon Park police in connection with the M Chinnaswamy stadium stampede.

Justice SR Krishna Kumar said there will be no coercive/precipitative steps against KSCA’s president Raghuram Bhat, its secretary A Shankar and treasurer ES Jairam, subject to the condition that they would co-operate with the ongoing investigation and enquiry. The court has also restrained the petitioners from leaving the jurisdiction of the court. The court said the interim arrangement will be in force till the next date of hearing, June 16.

The petitioners contended that the FIR was registered under section 174 of BNS subsequent to the action already taken under section 194 of BNS for UDR. The petitioners claimed this as clearly barred under law since there cannot be multiple investigations on the same issue or case.

'Government's call'

The petitioners submitted that it was the call of the government to celebrate the victory as it facilitated the players at Vidhana Soudha in the presence of the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister and other cabinet ministers. The incident at the stadium premises was an accident due to a sudden rush and surge, and no intention or motive can be attributed, particularly to the petitioners as the gate management and crowd management were not the responsibility of KSCA. According to the petitioners, the crowd management was the responsibility of RCB and the police.

“The KSCA managing committee only handles the venue of M Chinnaswamy Stadium on rentals and controls cricket in Karnataka. It does not deal with the audience, spectators or fans. The offences alleged cannot be traced to any actions of the petitioners, even remotely. The order of suspension of police officers clearly blames the failure of the police department, and in turn, the police cannot victimise the petitioners for none of their faults. The registration of the crime fails as it has not passed through the muster of legal procedures and requirements such as preliminary investigation, examination of parties, etc,” the petition said.

The petitioners stated that there is no material and no allegations to impute them for the alleged offences. They said the police succumbed to the pressure and registered a false case naming them as the accused. “The very complainant (police inspector of Cubbon Park police station) is now suspended for dereliction of duties, including the police higher-ups. Therefore, the truth of the allegations setting the criminal law into motion turns otherwise. The framing of the managing committee goes contrary to the principles of "no vicarious liability in criminal cases," and it also fails as the procedure to accuse a corporate entity is wholly distinct and different under law,” the petition said.