The Karnataka government on Wednesday approached the high court to contest the Central Administrative Tribunal’s (CAT) July 1 decision that revoked the suspension of Indian Police Service officer Vikash Kumar Vikash. His suspension followed the June 4 stampede near Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium, which claimed 11 lives.
Advocate general Shashikiran Shetty urgently mentioned the case before justices SG Pandit and TM Nadaf, highlighting that Vikash had already reported for duty in uniform. The bench scheduled the matter for Thursday.
The CAT had described the suspension as “mechanical,” lacking adequate justification. It criticised the state for bypassing due process and ordered Vikash’s immediate reinstatement as additional police commissioner. The tribunal observed that the police had no advance notice of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)’s IPL victory parade, which was announced on Instagram without official intimation, sparking the deadly rush.
Additionally, the CAT recommended reinstating four other suspended officers, including then police commissioner B Dayananda.
In its appeal, the government argued the CAT’s findings were premature, as judicial and magisterial inquiries were still underway. The state contended that revoking suspensions could compromise the integrity of investigations by influencing witnesses and tampering with evidence.
The plea asserted that the suspensions were not impulsive but based on credible evidence indicating negligence. It criticised the tribunal for dismissing this evidence—including documents submitted confidentially—and for recommending reinstatement of officers who were not part of the proceedings.
The government reiterated its stance that RCB was primarily responsible for the tragedy.