RCB marketing head Nikhil Sosale says arrest 'illegal'; cites ‘oral instructions’ from Siddaramaiah

In a petition filed before the court, Nikhil Sosale termed his arrest arbitrary, illegal, and politically motivated.

Nikhil Sosale, the marketing head of Royal Challengers Sports Ltd, has moved the Karnataka High Court challenging his arrest in connection with the tragic stampede at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium, which claimed 11 lives and left 75 injured during RCB’s IPL victory celebrations.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru's (RCB) Head of Marketing and Revenue, Nikhil Sosale being taken to court.(AFP)

According to a Times of India report, in a petition filed before the court, Sosale termed his arrest arbitrary, illegal, and politically motivated, alleging that he was taken into custody based on Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s oral instructions following a late-night cabinet meeting. 

He argued that his arrest was a knee-jerk reaction, aimed at shifting the blame for the incident onto RCB and its staff, even before an investigation had clearly established individual roles.

The arrest, carried out by city police in the early hours of Friday, came shortly after the High Court took suo motu cognisance of the stampede and sought accountability from the state. Sosale’s counsel told the court that the FIR was filed by Inspector AK Girisha, who was himself later suspended — raising questions about procedural lapses and the legality of the arrest.

“Arrest is the prerogative of the investigating officer and cannot be carried out at the behest of political orders,” Sosale’s counsel argued, adding that the decision violated his constitutional rights under Article 19, which guarantees personal freedom. The petition also cited a lack of concrete evidence tying Sosale to the logistical mismanagement that led to the disaster.

The state government, represented by Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty, countered that Sosale was detained while allegedly attempting to leave the country, a claim his legal team has not yet addressed publicly.

After a brief hearing, Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar adjourned the matter to June 9 and said that interim relief would be considered after the government files its statement of objections.