The Karnataka High Court has directed nine critical queries to the state’s Congress-led administration over the tragic stampede at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium that left 11 dead during a felicitation for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on June 5. The division bench, led by Acting Chief Justice V Kameswar Rao and Justice C M Joshi, initiated a suo motu petition, demanding detailed answers by June 10.
The court’s questions revolve around key accountability points: who authorized the celebration, whether permissions were formally sought, if protocols existed for managing gatherings exceeding 50,000, and what preventive actions were implemented for traffic and crowd control. The bench also inquired about medical preparedness, timeliness of emergency response, and whether officials estimated turnout figures in advance.
These judicial demands followed the suspension of five senior police officials, including Bengaluru Commissioner B Dayananda. Investigations uncovered that despite the Bengaluru Police not approving a victory parade due to safety concerns, RCB management publicly declared the event on social media early on June 4, sparking uncontrolled crowds. KSCA, RCB’s co-organizer, claimed to have secured government nod for a felicitation at Vidhana Soudha the same evening.
The FIR filed after the disaster names RCB, KSCA, and DNA Network, with arrests of RCB’s marketing head and a DNA executive. Meanwhile, the HC has offered interim protection to three KSCA members.
Two parallel inquiries—a judicial probe led by retired judge John Michael Cunha and a magisterial investigation—have been launched.
Read also: