Shah Rukh Khan Gets Relief In ‘Raees’ Stampede Case, Gujarat HC Dismisses Criminal Proceedings
In a relief to Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, the Gujarat High Court on Wednesday quashed a 2017 criminal case against him in connection with the stampede at the railway station in Vadodara during a train trip to promot
In
a
relief
to
Bollywood
actor
Shah
Rukh
Khan,
the
Gujarat
High
Court
on
Wednesday
quashed
a
2017
criminal
case
against
him
in
connection
with
the
stampede
at
the
railway
station
in
Vadodara
during
a
train
trip
to
promote
his
film
'Raees'.
The
case
was
registered
for
allegedly
committing
acts
endangering
the
life
or
personal
safety
of
others
after
a
man
suffered
a
heart
attack
at
the
Vadodara
railway
station
during
the
'Raees'
promotion
event.
He
was
rushed
to
a
hospital
where
doctors
declared
him
dead
after
the
examination.
Justice
Nikhil
Kariel
allowed
Khan's
plea
seeking
quashing
of
the
criminal
case
against
him
and
the
summons
issued
against
him
by
a
Vadodara
court.
Khan
had
approached
the
high
court
after
the
lower
court
issued
him
a
summons
under
section
204
of
the
CrPC
(for
securing
the
attendance
of
the
accused).
A
court
of
the
chief
judicial
magistrate
in
Vadodara
had
issued
summons
to
Khan
after
noting
that
there
was
sufficient
ground
for
proceedings
against
him
in
the
case
under
sections
336,
337
and
338
of
the
Indian
Penal
Code
(IPC)
for
allegedly
committing
acts
endangering
the
life
or
personal
safety
of
others
and
causing
simple
and
grievous
hurt
to
them
by
such
acts.
One
Farheed
Khan
Pathan,
a
local
politician,
had
suffered
a
heart
attack
at
the
Vadodara
railway
station
on
January
23,
2017,
during
the
stampede
caused
by
the
people
eager
to
catch
a
glimpse
of
the
superstar
who
had
arrived
on
a
train.
A
few
others
were
injured
in
the
incident.
Khan
was
travelling
from
Mumbai
to
Delhi
on
August
Kranti
Rajdhani
Express
to
promote
his
movie,
'Raees',
and
when
the
train
pulled
into
Vadodara
railway
station,
hundreds
of
his
fans
rushed
to
the
platform
to
catch
his
glimpse.
The
superstar
threw
'smiley
balls'
and
't-shirts'
at
the
crowd,
causing
a
scuffle.
One
Jitendra
Solanki
had
moved
the
Vadodara
court
seeking
the
initiation
of
criminal
proceedings
against
Khan
after
the
police
refused
to
take
his
complaint
and
register
an
FIR
against
the
superstar.
The
complainant
raised
the
issue
of
"criminal
negligence
and
recklessness" on
part
of
Khan
by
throwing
gifts
at
his
fans
which
caused
the
stampede
and
subsequent
death
of
a
person.
The
victim's
relative
had
opposed
Khan's
plea
in
the
high
court,
saying
that
the
actor
caused
chaos
at
the
railway
station
by
throwing
balls
and
t-shirts
at
the
crowd
of
his
fans
on
the
platform.
Khan's
"irresponsible
behaviour"
caused
the
death
of
his
fan
and
injuries
to
others.
Khan's
lawyer
Mihir
Thakore
argued
that
throwing
'smiley
balls'
and
t-shirts
cannot
be
considered
to
be
rash
or
negligent
either
endangering
human
life
or
personal
safety
by
any
stretch
of
the
imagination.
In
its
order,
the
high
court
observed
that
the
complaint
against
Khan
was
filed
by
a
person
who
had
no
direct
connection
with
the
incident
in
question.
The
HC
also
observed
that
it
is
required
to
consider
if
it
would
be
fair
and
justifiable
to
allow
a
trial
against
Khan
in
Vadodara
and
inconvenience
ordinary
citizens
of
the
city.