Bengaluru stampede: Karnataka HC denies interim relief to RCB official

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday denied interim relief to Nikhil Sosale marketing head of Royal Challengers Bengaluru RCB in the June 4 stadium stampede that claimed 11 lives hereThe court also reserved its order on his petition till June 11Sosale was arrested on June 6 by the Central Crime Branch at the Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru when he was about to leave for DubaiIn his petition Sosale questioned the legality of his June 6 early morning arrest He alleged that the police action was influenced by political directivesThe singlejudge bench of Justice S R Krishna Kumar heard arguments from both Sosales counsel and the state before deciding to pronounce the interim order tomorrowSenior Advocate S Chouta representing Sosale contended that the arrest was made in violation of procedure especially since the investigation has already been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department CIDThey are saying as a superior officer they CCB can arrest But even if that power exists it must be in writing and communicated at the time of arrest Chouta argued citing Section 55 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita BNSSUltimately the question is about liberty Even if the offence is punishable with more than seven years unless there is credible reason to believe and material on record you cannot deprive a person of liberty he said referring to a Supreme Court judgmentThe court also sought clarity on the notification transferring the case to the CID and questioned why the CCB suddenly intervened in the investigationThe problem is CCB suddenly comes in All the public knows is that the investigation was handed to CID Then in the morning CCB arrests Sosale What happened in between the judge questionedChouta pointed to the inconsistencies in the timeline and questioned the basis of the arrestsThe first arrest of a freelancer named Shamant was made at 3 am by the Ashok Nagar Police Sosale was arrested at 330 am by the CCB Two more arrests followed at 4 am Then five police officials were suspended What legal process authorised CCB to step in he questionedHe also argued that Sosale and the others arrested had no clear role mentioned in the FIRThe FIR just refers to entities Theres no naming of individuals So are all members of RCB KSCA and DNA fair game for arrest now There are no ingredients of the offence present It seems arbitrary and selective Chouta saidHe further submitted that Sosale was not provided with mandatory documents at the time of arrest which he claimed violated due processOn the states side Special Public Prosecutor B A Belliyappa appeared along with Additional Public Prosecutor B N Jagadeesha who said the prosecution would produce documentation to justify the CCBs involvementThe detention was on June 6 We are compiling a detailed timeline showing how CCB was roped in through orders by a superior officer Its all in black and white Jagadeesha told the courtThe judge responded that he would examine whether the legal process between the night of June 5 and the morning of June 6 substantiates the states claimAdvocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty representing the state government sought time to argue the matterWhen Chouta sought interim bail for Sosale the AG opposed the plea stating that the states full response would be presented the following dayJustice Krishna Kumar recorded that the petitioners counsel had been heard in full and posted the matter for further hearing to June 11The hearing also touched upon the larger context of the incident including political developments and administrative actions following the tragedy that claimed 11 lives and injured dozensThe court also noted the mention of a suo motu PIL related to the incident which has been adjourned to June 12This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever