Orissa High Court Dismisses PIL Seeking Cancellation Of India-South Africa T20 At Barabati Stadium

A vacation Bench comprising Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo and Justice Murahari Sri Raman dismissed the petition after the State provided assurance of safety and security at the stadium premises. The Bench observed,

"The learned Advocate General emphatically contended that the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) has already made elaborate and comprehensive arrangements for smooth and successful conduct of the event in collaboration with the State Government, Police department and other stake holders and several measures have been taken towards fire safety with the help of Fire Services Department and safety of spectators is the utmost concern of the State Government and there will be no difficulty for the spectators in any manner during the match and since it is an international event, no order should be passed which will have a far-reaching consequence in organizing such event in Barabati Stadium in future."

The Court further noted that a similar matter at the instance of the petitioner is already sub-judice before the Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC), Bhubaneswar and DCP, Cuttack as well as OCA have been directed by OHRC to ensure that all the arrangements are in place. Again, it observed, there has been an inordinate delay on the part of the petitioner in approaching the Court and only five days are left for the event to happen. In view of the categorical submission made by the Advocate General that for the safety of the spectators, all suitable measures have already been taken, the Court was not inclined to grant any relief to the petitioner.

Factual Background:

The petitioner had claimed that there is no fire safety measure certificate as well as structural safety certificate issued to the concerned authority for organising an international match which is likely to host around 45,000 spectators. The petitioner had approached the High Court for its urgent intervention. He had impleaded 15 numbers of parties as respondents, including the State of Odisha, Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) and BCCI.

The petitioner submitted that an organisation, which is not complying with mandatory requirement of law, should not be allowed to perform any function with the aid of government functionaries. It also contended that the government functionaries must also be conscious of their responsibilities to ensure compliance with mandatory requirements of law, particularly 'fire safety measures' under the Odisha Fire Prevention and Fire Safety Rules, 2017 (as amended in 2019).

The petition stated that most part of the structure of the stadium are seventy years old and there is no 'structural stability certificate' issued by competent authority. Accordingly, the petitioner had prayed the Court to restrict and prohibit the opposite parties to hold the T-20 International Match until they ensure necessary fire safety arrangements and obtain certificates strictly in compliance with the Fire Safety Rules, 2017.

Case Title: Sanjay Kumar Naik v. State of Odisha & Ors.

Case No.: W.P.(C) (PIL) No. 14024 of 2022

Order Dated: 7^th June 2022

Coram: Justice Sangam Kumar Sahoo & Justice Murahari Sri Raman

Counsel for the Petitioner: Mr. S.S. Das, Senior Advocate

Counsel for the Respondents: Mr. Ashok Parija, Advocate General and Mr. Abhijit Pattnaik, for BCCI

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (Ori) 101

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