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RCB moves HC against tribunal order blaming it for stampede that killed 11 at IPL victory celebrations
RCB did not take permission or consent from police, the Central Administrative Tribunal said in a recent order reinstating police official accused of negligence
IPL team Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has gone to the Karnataka high court against remarks by a tribunal, that "prima facie it appears that the RCB is responsible...", for the stampede ahead of the team's IPL victory celebrations near Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru that killed 11 people on June 4.
“The RCB did not take the appropriate permission or consent from the police. Suddenly, they posted on social media platforms and as a result of aforesaid information the public were gathered,” the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) said in its July 1 order quashing the suspension order against police officials accused of negligence in the matter.
"Suddenly, the RCB created the aforesaid type of nuisance without any prior permission," the CAT further observed as it quashed the Karnataka government’s suspension order on a plea by senior IPS officer Vikash Kumar Vikash.
The quashed order had names of two other suspended IPS officers, Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda and DCP Shekar H Tekkannavar, besides Vikash.
The bench further said it could not be expected from the police to make arrangements as per rules in just 12 hours: “Police personnel are also human beings. They are neither ‘god’ nor magicians, and also not having… ‘Aladdin ka chirag’ which was able to fulfil any wish."
Later, as the state government went to the high court against the CAT's quashing of the suspension order, even the HC termed the suspension an extreme step, asking the government to “justify whether it was proper to keep the officers under suspension, or, whether shifting them to another post would have been sufficient".
That matter was next listed for July 9, and the HC refused to stay the CAT's order till then.
Now, the RCB has moved the HC against remarks that held it responsible for the stampede.
The stampede during the victory celebrations of the Bengaluru team after their IPL 2025 campaign drew sharp criticism over the planning and crowd management, with several quarters holding the police, the political class including the Congress government, and the RCB management responsible.
