Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede case: Hearing adjourned as debate continues over documents in sealed cover

Bengaluru: The hearing on the suo motu public interest litigation relating to the Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede was adjourned to Wednesday. This came after all parties, including the amicus curiae appointed by the high court, asserted that there is no justification for keeping some status reports and documents submitted by the govt in a sealed cover.When the hearing began, advocate-general Shashikiran Shetty submitted that since the inquiries ordered by the govt are in progress, including one by a retired HC judge, the documents can be made public at a later date. According to him, whatever is stated in those reports and documents shouldn’t be allowed to be taken advantage of by the parties concerned at this stage when both magisterial and judicial probes are under way.However, senior advocate S Susheela, assisting the court as amicus curiae, submitted that the said report does not fall under the category of national or state security-related documents. Senior advocate SS Naganand, appearing on behalf of one of the impleading applicants, pointed out that the court posted nine questions and the answers given to those cannot be kept in a sealed cover.

As the hearing remained inconclusive, the division bench of acting Chief Justice V Kameshwar Rao and Justice CM Joshi adjourned the hearing to Wednesday.

Police issue SOPs for crowd mgmtIn the backdrop of the June 4 stampede at Chinnaswamy Stadium, police have come up with a standard operating procedure (SOP) for crowd management at events and mass gatherings. DG-IGP MA Saleem drafted the SOP, stating that auditing safety of the venue and coordinating with organisers are basic precautionary measures to ensure hassle-free celebrations.The circular reads: “On-ground deployment and access control, deployment of trained personnel, screening and verification at the entry level, queue management, barricades and directional signage, and public address systems — these are the fundamentals that should be addressed before planning mega events.”

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