BENGALURU: Acting on a PIL filed by former national and international athletic coaches, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday indicated that it may restrain authorities from allowing JSW Bangalore Football Club from using Sree Kanteerava Stadium, as procedures were not followed to allow the same.
A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice H T Narendra Prasad indicated this during the hearing of a PIL filed by coaches including G G Prameela, Ashwini Nachappa and others.
In the 2017 petition, petitioners contended that Sree Kanteerava Stadium boasts of 400m synthetic track meant for athletics, and track would be damaged if used for the under-17 World Cup.
The court pointed out that the Supreme Court has made it clear that properties of the state cannot be used without following due process.
The court asked the club and state to submit their response by the next hearing date. JSW’s counsel submitted that they have allotted `5 crore to develop the stadium, which was allegedly in a dilapidated condition. Contending that the stadium was used for three months in a year for tournaments, the counsel said that an application seeking extension of permission is pending before the government.