Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has tabled a draft bill for a new law to control crowds. After the deadly stampede in Bengaluru took the lives of 11 people and injured more than 60.
The bill aims to regulate political rallies, meetings, and sponsored events. However, religious and traditional festivals have been excluded from the ambit of the bill. The bill is called the Karnataka Crowd Control, Managing Crowd at Events and Venue of Mass Gathering Bill, 2025. The draft bill was discussed in the cabinet meeting held on Thursday. It is expected to be passed in the next assembly. The bill aims to control large gatherings, recommending strict punishments, including imprisonment for up to three years and a fine of Rs 5,000 for those who violate it.
However, the bill has excluded fairs, chariot festivals, palanquin festivals, boat races (Theppada Theru or Theppotasavam), and Urs from its ambit. Permission is now required to hold any events.
State Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said, "Four bills were proposed today -- Karnataka crowd control, managing crowd at events and venue of mass gathering Bill, 2025; Karnataka Rohith Vemula Bill, 2025; Karnataka misinformation, fake news prohibition Bill, 2025; Karnataka hate speech and hate crimes prevention Bill, 2025," reports PTI.
The stampede occurred on June 4 evening in front of the Chinnaswamy stadium here, where a large number of people thronged to participate in the RCB team's IPL victory celebrations.
Following the unfortunate incident, senior Congress leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi instructed the state leadership to take accountability for the incident. According to reports, the party's national leadership told the state leadership that human lives are of great value to the party and the administration must be responsive, Times of India reported.