The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has held Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) responsible for the huge gathering outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium after their IPL title win on June 4. ESPNCricinfo reported that 3-5 lakhs people gathered, leading to a stampede that killed 11 and injured over 50 due to lack of crowd management.
The CAT bench of Justice BK Shrivastava and Santosh Mehra said RCB, owned by Diageo, caused a disturbance by celebrating without permission. This was part of a 29-page order in a case filed by Inspector General Vikash Kumar who was suspended for alleged dereliction of duty. The CAT has set aside Vikash’s suspension and ordered his reinstatement.
The tribunal noted that neither RCB nor their event firm S DNA Entertainment Network sought the required permission for the victory parade. Rules state that applications for such events have to be submitted a week in advance. KSCA CEO Shubhendu Ghosh sent a letter on behalf of the event firm to Cubbon Park Police Station informing them of the potential victory parade if the team won but did not formally request permission.
RCB posted social media announcements about the victory parade on June 4 without police consent. Initial posts shared the parade schedule and later posts mentioned free passes with a limited entry disclaimer which the CAT said implied the event was open to all.
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The tribunal concluded that RCB’s actions led to a huge gathering at the stadium which has a capacity of 35,000. Given the situation the police were already managing crowds after the team’s win. The CAT defended the police saying they are not superhuman and RCB created a disturbance without permission by not seeking proper consent.
Note: CAT is a quasi-judicial body and these observations won’t impact the state government’s stampede inquiry led by ex-High Court Justice Michael da Cunha.
