Bengaluru: The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) franchise has approached the Karnataka High Court seeking to quash the criminal case filed against it in connection with the tragic stampede that occurred during the team’s victory celebrations on June 4, which resulted in the deaths of 11 people.
The petition was filed by Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited and its Chief Operating Officer, Rajesh V. Menon, arguing that the event was held with full permission from the Congress-led state government. It further states that criminal proceedings against the franchise are baseless and amount to an abuse of legal process.
According to the petition, the state government had granted permission for the victory celebrations at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium, and RCB has submitted screenshots of a post on social media platform X by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. In that post, the Chief Minister invited the public to attend the celebrations, describing RCB’s IPL performance as “historic.” The petition argued that CM Siddaramaiah himself publicly invited the citizens to the event, which negates any suggestion of criminal conduct by RCB.
The FIR filed by Cubbon Park Police alleged that RCB committed an offence by inviting the public to the celebration. However, the petition insists that such an invitation does not constitute a criminal act and that there was no criminal intent, knowledge, or recklessness on the part of the organisers.
RCB's legal team noted that preparations for the event involved extensive coordination with the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and DNA Event Management, as well as discussions with local police. The police allegedly gave oral approval for the celebrations, and RCB ensured that access to the stadium was strictly controlled via online registration and official passes to limit crowd size according to stadium capacity.
However, on the morning of June 4, police reportedly informed RCB orally that the victory parade was cancelled. Simultaneously, the organisers were informed that the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister had decided to felicitate the team at Vidhana Soudha. Following this, the government permitted the RCB team to proceed to Chinnaswamy Stadium for the celebrations.
RCB claims that they were unaware of the stampede outside the stadium until the event was underway, at which point they promptly concluded the celebrations upon receiving information about the casualties.
The KSCA has also blamed the government for the incident. The High Court has already granted immunity from police action to KSCA office-bearers. Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is likely to obtain custody of RCB's Marketing Head, Nikhil Sosale. His plea against police arrest is scheduled to be heard in court today.
In addition, Sunil Matthew, Kiran, and Sumanth from DNA Event Management have been arrested, and the CID has sought custody of all four accused, who are currently lodged in Bengaluru Central Prison.
The CID may also summon KSCA President Raghuram Bhat, Secretary A. Shankar, and Treasurer E.S. Jayaram for questioning. The three officials have secured interim protection from the High Court against coercive police action.
Amid mounting public criticism, the state government has raised the compensation for the victims’ families from ₹10 lakh to ₹25 lakh. Furthermore, five senior police officers, including the Bengaluru Police Commissioner, have been suspended in connection with the tragedy.
With IANS inputs