It's
a
sigh
of
relief
for
Bollywood
actor
Shah
Rukh
Khan
as
the
Supreme
Court
on
Monday
(September
26)
ruled
in
favour
of
the
star
in
the
2017
stampede
case.
Sustaining
the
Gujarat
High
Court's
judgement
that
was
passed
earlier,
the
apex
court
declined
to
revive
a
criminal
case
against
the
actor.
The
Supreme
Court
remarked
that
"Celebrities
have
rights
like
all
other
citizens
and
cannot
be
made
vicariously
culpable."
The
case
was
filed
by
Congress
party
leader
Jitendra
Solanki,
who
alleged
that
actor
Shah
Rukh
Khan
triggered
a
stampede
at
Vadodara
railway
station
during
the
promotion
of
his
2017
film
Raees,
which
caused
the
death
of
a
man
by
heart
attack.
As
per
a
report
by
Hindustan
Times,
Solanki
had
challenged
the
Gujarat
High
Court
verdict
in
April
2022,
which
ended
a
criminal
case
registered
against
Khan
in
connection
with
the
man's
death.
Affirming
the
Gujarat
High
Court's
earlier
order
that
cancelled
the
case
against
Khan,
a
bench
of
justices
Ajay
Rastogi
and
CT
Ravi
Kumar
observed,
"What
was
the
fault
of
this
man
(Khan)?
Just
because
he
is
a
celebrity,
it
doesn't
mean
he
has
no
rights."
The
court,
according
to
HT,
also
said
that
one
cannot
expect
Khan
to
ensure
everyone's
safety
or
provide
a
personal
guarantee
while
travelling
by
train.
"If
somebody
travels
by
train,
there
is
no
personal
guarantee.
The
bench
highlighted
that
"A
celebrity
has
equal
rights
like
every
other
citizen
of
the
country."
The
bench
further
added:
"He
(Khan)
is
a
celebrity,
but
that
doesn't
mean
he
can
control
everyone
else.
Let
us
focus
on
more
important
subjects
that
deserve
attention
and
time
of
this
court."
Senior
counsel
Sidharth
Luthra
and
a
team
of
lawyers
from
Karanjawala
&
Co.
represented
the
superstar
in
court.
On
January
23,
2017,
a
large
crowd
gathered
at
Vadodara
railway
station
upon
the
arrival
of
the
August
Kranti
Express,
on
which
Shah
Rukh
was
travelling
to
promote
his
then-releasing
film
Raees.
According
to
a
report
by
HT,
a
local
politician,
Farheed
Khan
Pathan,
who
was
at
the
railway
station,
suffered
a
heart
attack
during
a
melee
that
was
triggered
when
impatient
people
wanted
to
have
a
look
at
the
star,
while
a
few
others
suffered
injuries
in
the
incident.
The
outlet
reported
that
later
that
year,
a
Vadodara
magisterial
court
issued
summons
to
Khan
based
on
the
complaint
of
Congress
leader
Jitendra
Solanki,
who
pressed
on
filing
an
FIR
against
Khan.
According
to
HT,
the
high
court
dismissed
the
case
against
the
actor
in
April,
saying
he
could
not
be
held
liable
for
criminal
negligence.
However,
the
bench
questioned
Solanki's
"personal
interest" in
pursuing
the
case
so
hard
and
asked
him
to
leave
the
matter.
Rejecting
his
appeal,
the
bench
stated,
"It
is
better
to
sum
up
these
cases."