HC bars charge sheet in RCB case sans nod

NT Correspondent
Bengaluru

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday restrained the state government from filing the final report in the case registered against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and DNA Entertainment Networks Ltd, without prior permission. The case pertains to the stampede that occurred outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium here last month
 While hearing multiple petitions related to the incident, Justice S R Krishna Kumar said: “Relist on August 5. Meanwhile, the respondent is directed not to file the final report without leave of the court. The interim order passed earlier in all the petitions will continue until the next date of hearing.”
The counsel appearing for Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited (RCSPL), which owns and manages the RCB franchise, told the court that the company has been fully cooperating with the investigation.
However, he raised concerns that filing a chargesheet at this stage could cause serious and irreversible reputational damage to the company.
Following this, the court orally instructed the government not to proceed with the final report without explicit permission.
“Don't file without leave of court,” the judge stated.
In response, the state's counsel assured the bench that no action would be taken immediately. “Nothing will happen in the next one week or 10 days.”