HC stays Vadodara court’s proceedings against SRK

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat high court on Thursday granted relief to

Bollywood

star Shah Rukh Khan by staying proceedings against him in a Vadodara court in connection with death of a person during stampede caused when the actor was promoting his film Raees earlier this year.

One

Fareed Khan Pathan

died of heart attack during the stampede at Vadodara railway station on January 23, when the film star passed by on his Mumbai-Delhi train trip for film promotion. A local Congressman

Jitendra Solanki

filed a complaint with the court demanding registration of an FIR against Khan. He had earlier approached the police for lodging of an FIR against Khan under sections 336, 337 and 338 of the IPC, for allegedly committing acts endangering life or personal safety of others and causing simple and grievous hurts to them by such acts, but the police had refused to lodge FIR on his complaint.

The court issued summons to Khan asking him to remain present on July 27. He rushed to the high court urging the court to get the FIR quashed and stay the proceedings during the pendency of this petition.

Presenting Khan’s version, senior counsel Mihir Thakore submitted that the film star came out of the coach for just 20 seconds and waived towards the crowds. People gathered at the station on getting the news that Khan was travelling by a particular train. The stampede took place and some people got injured. But the film star had nothing to do with the incident at all.

Opposing the quashing plea, the state government argued that the actor came out at the Vadodara railway station and threw T-shirts and balls to the crowd. This created a stampede and thus Khan is very much responsible for the incident.

After brief hearing,

Justice A J Desai

admitted Khan’s quashing petition and asked Vadodara court not to proceed ahead in this case at least till September 25, when further hearing before the HC is scheduled.