Film Production Unit Sought Permission To Screen Premiere Of Pushpa 2 With All Safety Precautions: Telangana HC Grants Interim Bail To Actor Allu Arjun
The Telangana High Court granted interim bail to Actor Allu Arjun after observing that the film production unit sought permission to screen the premiere of the highly anticipated movie Pushpa 2 with all the precautions.
The Actor (Petitioner) was accused under Sections 105, 118(1) read with 3(5) of the BNS following a tragic incident at the Sandhya 70 MM Theatre during the premiere screening of the highly anticipated film Pushpa 2. The alleged overcrowding and commotion at the event resulted in the death of the De Facto Complainant’s wife and injuries to their son.
A Single Bench of Justice Juvvadi Sitidevi observed, “A perusal of the remand case diary and record, it is apparent that Sandhya 70 M.M. management addressed a Letter dated 02.12.2024 to the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Chikkadpally Police Station and sought permission to provide security measures at Sandhya7O MM Theatre in view of arrival of movie team which includes Hero, Heroin and other actors and makers of the film. On the said letter, the Assistant Commissioner of Police has affixed their seal and endorsement. The film production unit addressed a Letter dated O4.L2.2O24 and sought permission to screening of premiere show with all safety precautions.”
Senior Advocate S. Niranjan Reddy represented the Petitioner, while Public Prosecutor Palle Nagesvar Rao appeared for the Respondents.
The Actor had filed a petition under Section 528 of the BNSS before the Court to grant stay on all further proceedings including the arrest of the Petitioner in relation to FIR registered against him.
The Petitioner submitted that he attended the film’s screening on December 2, 2024, with prior intimation provided to the theatre management and the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Chikkadpally, for arranging adequate security.
However, the de facto complainant alleged that the Petitioner’s presence at the event caused an uncontrollable crowd surge, leading to the fatal incident. The complainant accused the Petitioner of criminal liability for his role in the alleged overcrowding.
The Petitioner argued that the incident occurred due to lapses in security arrangements by the theatre management and inadequate deployment of police personnel. It was submitted there was no mens rea on the part of the Petitioner in the commission of the alleged offences and the allegations levelled against him did not constitute any alleged offences.
The Court noted that the Assistant Commissioner of Police had endorsed a letter from the theatre management, requesting security arrangements for the event. Additionally, the film’s production unit had addressed a letter seeking permission for the screening. The Petitioner contended that the unfortunate incident was unforeseeable and could not be attributed to his actions.
The Bench referred to the decision in Arnab Manoranjan Goswami v. State of Maharashtra (2021), wherein the Supreme Court observed held, “Deprivation of liberty even for a single day is one day too many. We must always be mindlul of the deeper systemic implications of our decisions.”
Consequently, the Court held that “this Court is of the considered view that it is a fit case for grant of interim bail for a period of four weeks.”
Cause Title: Allu Arjun v. The State of Telangana & Anr.
Appearance:
Petitioner: Senior Advocate S. Niranjan Reddy; Advocate G. Ashok Reddy
Respondents: Public Prosecutor Palle Nagesvar Rao