Stampede Deaths: HC grants relief to KSCA office bearers from arrest

The Karnataka High Court on Friday granted protection from arrest to the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) office bearers in connection with the case the Bengaluru Police registered on Thursday after 11 persons died, and scores of others injured in a stampede in front of Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Wednesday.

Justice SR Krishna Kumar, while granting interim relief to KSCA office bearers, president Raghuram Bhat, secretary A Shankar and treasurer ES Jairam, asked them to cooperate with the police investigations. The court asked the government and the police not to take any coercive action against the office-bearers till the next date of the hearing.

The KSCA management swiftly moved the high court on Friday after chief minister Siddaramaiah ordered the arrest of its office bearers along with the senior executives of RCB Bengaluru and DNA Entertainment Networks charging them with culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other sections under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Their petition prayed for the quashing of the FIR holding KSCA management accountable for the deaths and injuries to RCB fans.

In its petition, KSCA said it is only a governing body of cricket in Karnataka with affiliation to the board of control for cricket in India. It runs the M Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru where international tests, one day and T20 cricket matches are conducted. The KSCA has nothing to do with IPL events and Wednesday’s celebrations were organized by RCB franchise and managed by its vendor DNA Entertainment Network. KSCA’s role was limited to making the stadium and its infrastructure available to RCB and DNA.

The police, the petitioners said, registered the FIR against them under intense pressure and compelling circumstances without any preliminary enquiry.