‘Sandhya Theatre’ case: ‘Pushpa 2’ makers get big relief from HC

Mumbai: The High Court has granted relief to Maithri Movies producers Yelamanchili Ravishankar and Yarneni Naveen in the case registered by the Chikkadpally police over the stampede at Sandhya theatre during the benefit show of the film Pushpa-2. It has also given an interim order not to arrest them till further orders.

“We are running a film production and distribution company by the name of Maithri Movie Makers. We have produced more than 30 films so far. We have also distributed 30 other films including ‘Pushpa 2’. A person named Bhaskar has lodged a complaint at the Chikkadpally police station that his wife and son suffocated in the stampede at Sandhya theatre on December 4. The woman died and the boy is undergoing treatment. We have nothing to do with this accident. Just because the producers are responsible for the incident, it is illegal to register a criminal case against them. The FIR registered against us should be quashed,” Ravishankar and Naveen filed a petition.

Justice K. Sujana heard the case. The counsel for the petitioner argued that the role of the petitioners is limited to the production of the film. He said that once the film is sold to the buyers, their role becomes non-existent. He argued that it is not right to register a criminal case against producers who have no connection and requested that the FIR be quashed. After hearing the arguments, the judge issued an interim order not to arrest the petitioners.