In a major turn of events, the Karnataka High Court has directed the state government to forward the sealed cover report of the June 4 stampede at Chinnaswamy Stadium to Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and DNA Entertainment Networks. The order was made after rejecting the state by reason of keeping the report from the court since confidentiality only under sealed covers is given to issues of national security, interest to the community or issues of individual privacy, none of which applies to the present case.
The division bench, which heard this matter comprising Acting Chief Justice V Kameswar Rao and Justice C M Joshi, ruled despite the argument that only parties representing the public or the general body should be provided access to the findings of the stampede caused by a fire accident at the Legislative assembly compound on the city outskirts on July 31, according to the suo motu public interest litigation (PIL). The court was emphatic that the release of the report would aid in transparency and would assist in enabling a more thorough judicial review to be conducted.
The sad event happened before the gates of the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on June 4 as RCB was basking in the glory of winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) title, the first in the club. The stampede caused some injuries and led to grave doubts in terms of crowd management, event organization, and the safety of the event.
The Karnataka High court overturned the argument by this state that the release of the report may jeopardize investigations by a judicial commission and a magistrate, arguing that these fears were premature and unsubstantial. It mentioned that retired judges and senior officials were investigating the inquiries, and they were not capable of questioning their objectivity.
The bench laid emphasis that it would be unfair to tie up the report to be sent to important stakeholders, but still expect cooperation. Getting the report would enable them to offer important knowledge on issues related to the causes of the incident, responsibility, and suggestions to reduce such disasters in the future.
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