Bengaluru stampede: Deeming arrests unlawful, high court grants bail to 4 executives

Bengaluru: Karnataka high court Thursday granted conditional interim bail to RCB marketing executive Nikhil Sosale and three executives from event organisers DNA Networks, holding that the arrests lacked strong legal ground and are ‘vitiated’.The court instructed immediate release of the four individuals — DNA Entertainment Networks’ Sunil Mathew, Kiran Kumar Sand Shamant NP Mavinakere, besides Sosale — upon receipt of the bail order. After their arrest last week, the accused had said the FIR contained only the names of their companies.The bail conditions include restrictions on witness tampering, cooperation with probes, execution of personal bonds worth Rs 1 lakh with sureties, and submission of passports within two weeks.Justice Krishna Kumar said a perusal of FIRs containing alleged offences will, prima facie, indicate that the petitioners cannot be charged with voluntarily causing hurt, unlawful assembly and using criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging duties under BNS.The court further said offences like culpable homicide and endangering life or liberty are bailable and carry a maximum punishment of three years or a fine or with both.

It held the view that the grounds of arrest – no material to support charges and the petitioners are not named in FIRs — were not justified “without any investigation prior to their arrest”.At the time of petitioners’ arrest, the investigating officer did not furnish checklist/documents in accordance with guidelines mandated in Arnesh Kumar and DK Basu cases. The court said the arrest of the petitioners is vitiated.The judge said that material on record will, prima facie, indicate that the petitioners were deprived of their personal liberty by the CCB police, who directly took petitioners to the Cubbon Park police station immediately thereafter. The court said the grounds of arrest are also vitiated by the arrests carried out by CCB, which did not have jurisdiction or authority to secure arrests.