Three Public Interest Litigations (PILs) were filed in the Calcutta High Court on Monday over the chaos that erupted at Salt Lake Stadium during the visit of football star Lionel Messi as part of his three-day “Messi GOAT India 2025” tour.
One PIL was filed by Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, another by senior advocate Sabyasachi Chattopadhyay, and the third by advocate Mainak Ghoshal.
The counsels mentioned the matter before a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice Partha Sarathi Sen. The Bench granted permission to file all three PILs.
In his submission, advocate Sabyasachi Chattopadhyay argued that the state government has constituted an inquiry committee headed by a former judge, but claimed that the state does not have the authority to do so. He sought the court’s intervention and requested that all those responsible for the alleged gross mismanagement be identified, arrested and punished.
Advocate Mainak Ghoshal, in his petition, sought an investigation under the supervision of the court. He also demanded that the organisers refund ticket prices to spectators and that the probe be handed over to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), citing alleged financial irregularities. He further submitted that the organising agency should bear the cost of repairing the damage caused to the stadium.
The counsel for Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, Billwadal Bhattacharyya, also sought a neutral and impartial investigation into the incident.
Speaking to The Indian Express, senior counsel Firdous Shamim said, “The government along with (main organiser) Shatadru Dutta have cheated the common man, we want justice for them. Also, we have asked for the investigation to be under court monitoring with a present Justice as the former justice Ashim Kumar Roy is currently holding a post in the state government.”
Meanwhile, senior counsel Billwadal Bhattacharya said, “We have asked for an impartial inquiry committee which will be headed by a HC judge, and also we have asked the High Court for an SIT who will look into the matter.”
On Saturday, angry fans alleged that they were unable to see Messi as he was surrounded by VVIPs and politicians, following which sections of the crowd vandalised parts of the Salt Lake Stadium. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee apologised to Messi and fans on social media and announced a probe committee headed by former Justice Ashim Kumar Ray. The committee visited the stadium on Sunday.
Bidhannagar police have arrested the prime organiser, Shatadru Dutta, who has been remanded to 14 days of police custody. Five people have also been arrested in a vandalism case.