Gujarat HC Quashes Criminal Proceedings Against Shah Rukh Khan In 2017 'Raees' Promotion Stampede

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 Shah Rukh Khan.

Shah Rukh Khan during the trailer launch of film Raees. (File Photo/ Getty)

Ahmedabad: In a breather to Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, the Gujarat High Court on Wednesday quashed a criminal case filed against him in connection with the stampede at the railway station in Vadodara during promotion of his film 'Raees'.

The ruling came after Khan had moved High Court post a lower court issued him a summons under section 204 of the CrPC (for securing the attendance of the accused). Summons were issued against Khan  for allegedly committing acts endangering the life or personal safety of others and causing simple and grievous hurt to them by such acts.

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. Several other were injured and hospitalised in the incident.

"The petitioner was promoting his movie on the railway station, after having obtained permission to do so from the authorities concerned. Neither could the acts of the petitioner be termed as being of extreme high degree of negligence or recklessness nor could the acts stated to be proximate or efficient cause for the alleged incident," HC order read.

Pronouncing the judgement, HC also observed that the complaint against Khan was filed by a person who had no direct connection with the incident in question, news agency PTI reported.

A local politician Fardeen Khan Pathan 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. 

According to reports, Khan was travelling from Mumbai to Delhi on August Kranti Rajdhani Express to promote his movie and as the rail reached 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.

The complainant raised the issue of "criminal negligence and recklessness" on part of Khan by throwing gifts at the crowd causing a death and several injuries. In the court, Khan's lawyer Mihir Thakore argued that throwing gifts at fans cannot be considered to be rash or negligent either endangering human life or personal safety by any stretch of the imagination.

(With inputs from PTI.)