HYDERABAD: Actor Allu Arjun has filed a petition in the Telangana High Court seeking stay on all further proceedings, including his arrest, in connection with FIR No 376 registered by the Chikkadpally police following the death of 39-year-old M Revathi at the Sandhya Theatre during the screening of the premiere show of Pushpa-2: The Rule.
The petition said that the allegations against the actor lack factual basis and were designed to misuse the judicial process, thereby warranting intervention by the High Court under Section 528 of BNSS being verbatim reproduction of Section 482 of CrPC.
“The principles laid out in the Bhajan Lal case emphasise that such proceedings should be quashed when initiated with malicious intent, as is evident in the present matter,” the petition read.
“The registration of the FIR against Allu Arjun is an abuse of the process of law and not on any factual or legal basis. Allowing the proceedings to continue would result in unnecessary harassment and irreparable harm to him, tarnishing his reputation without just cause,” it said.
“The FIR lacks any specific and direct allegations against the petitioner individually attributing any malafide actions against him. It is a settled principle of law that liability cannot be fastened upon an individual unless it is specifically averred that such person was directly and actively involved in the perpetration of the alleged offence. In the absence of any cogent and specific averment demonstrating the petitioner’s personal culpability and involvement, the FIR is unsustainable against the petitioner,” the petition said.
It may be mentioned here that the Chikkadpally police registered a criminal case against Arjun, his security team and the management of Sandhya Theatre on the complaint of M Bhaskar, the victim’s husband.
The case was registered under BNS Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 118(1) r/w 3(5)(voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means).
DCP, Central Zone, Akshansh Yadav had told reporters: “Around 9.30 pm, when people were waiting for the show to begin, the actor (Allu Arjun) arrived and his security team started pushing people, which created confusion among the public. Taking advantage of the situation, a large number of people entered the lower balcony area along with the actor and his security team. This led to suffocation and chaos.
A day later, Arjun expressed sorrow over Revathi’s death and announced that he would pay compensation of Rs 25 lakh to her family.