Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede: No interim relief yet from Karnataka High Court for RCB Marketing head Nikhil Sosale

The Karnataka High Court on Friday declined to grant any immediate relief to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Marketing and Revenue head Nikhil Sosale who was arrested today in connection with the Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede in Bengaluru [Nikhil Sosale v. State of Karnataka].Justice SR Krishna Kumar said the Court cannot pass any order without hearing the State and adjourned the plea for detailed hearing on Monday next week."I will have to give chance [to the State]. Any matter, wherever a person is in custody ... which is moved at 2:30, I am not passing order without giving a chance. I cannot do it right now," the Court remarked. The Court was told the arrest was being challenged on the ground that it was illegal. Senior counsel CK Nandakumar, representing Sosale, said that the arrest was made by an in-charge Investigating Officer, and that too on the basis of a Cabinet decision. "The officer who registered the FIR has been suspended," the counsel added.However, the Court questioned the argument to link the suspension with the FIR. In response, the counsel argued that arrest was still illegal as it was done on the directions of the Chief Minister.Advocate General Shashi Kiran sought time to respond to the plea. .11 people died and 56 people were left injured after a stampede took place outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4, when a large crowd gathered to greet the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) cricket team after they won the Indian Premier League (IPL).Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited (RCSPL) had planned a victory parade outside the stadium to mark RCB's first victory in 18 years, and the team was slated to arrive at the stadium to meet fans on Wednesday. When it was allegedly announced that free entry would be permitted, large crowds thronged the stadium's gates, leading to a stampede and the tragic loss of lives. The Karnataka government has set up a one-member commission headed by retired Karnataka High Court Justice John Michael Cunha to probe the stampede..Cubbon Park Police Station registered a first information report (FIR) against RCSPL and its officials including Sosale. In the early hours of June 6, Sosale was arrested at the Kempegowda International Airport and taken into custody by the police.Sosale has now moved the High Court contending that the manner in which he was arrested was illegal, arbitrary and violative of his fundamental rights. According to him, the arrest was made based only on the directive of the Chief Minister before the police had even conducted a preliminary inquiry. This, Sosale has contended, was a violation of his right to freedom under Article 19 as well as of the principles of natural justice. "It is clear from the timing of the Petitioner's arrest, which is evidently the result of an oral directive of the Hon'ble Chief Minister to arrest various RCB officials - that too, in the absence of any investigation whatsoever - that the Petitioner's arrest is motivated and an attempt to shift the blame of the tragedy to RCSPL and its officials," Sosale's petition states. .Meanwhile, the Karnataka High Court initiated a suo motu case on Thursday over the incident and sought a status report on the matter from the State. That case will be heard next on June 10, Tuesday.