High court directs state to implement SOP on crowd control until bill becomes law

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Monday directed the state government to implement the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued for crowd management until the proposed Karnataka Crowd Control (Management of Events and Places of Mass Gathering) Bill comes into force. The court disposed of the suo motu public interest litigation (PIL) initiated in connection with the stampede incident outside M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.

The division bench comprising Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice C M Poonacha heard the matter. The PIL had been registered suo motu following concerns over crowd management lapses that allegedly contributed to the tragic stampede.

Advocate General K Shashikiran Shetty, representing the state government, submitted that a comprehensive SOP had been formulated after detailed deliberations. “We have prepared the SOP after taking sufficient time and consultation,” he informed the bench while submitting the document dated January 13.

Amicus curiae S. Sushila clarified that the focus of the proceedings was not to revisit the incident itself but to ensure preventive measures going forward. “We are not going into what happened. The court had earlier raised nine questions. Until the Crowd Control Bill becomes law, the SOP must be strictly implemented,” she submitted.

Observing that the bill is currently under consideration by a legislative committee, the bench said, “The SOP is now in place and the proposed law is before the House committee. Until the legislation comes into effect, the SOP shall be followed. If grievances arise after the law is enacted, the petition can be reopened.”

Advocate G R Mohan urged the court to direct the government to place before it a report submitted by a committee regarding the conduct of the upcoming IPL season next month. The bench noted the submissions but confined its directions to implementation of the SOP.

After hearing all parties, the court recorded that the amicus had pointed out certain deficiencies in the SOP and that the suggestions would be conveyed to the legislative committee. Taking the government’s memo on record, the bench ordered strict enforcement of the SOP until the bill is enacted, and disposed of the PIL.