RCB Held Primarily Responsible for Bengaluru Stampede by Tribunal

The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has come down hard on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), holding the IPL franchise primarily accountable for the deadly stampede in Bengaluru on June 4 that claimed 11 lives.

The tragedy unfolded outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium when lakhs of fans turned up to celebrate RCB’s first-ever IPL title—an event that had been heavily promoted online but, as it turns out, without any formal nod from city authorities. The tribunal’s order pointed to a complete lack of planning and communication from RCB’s side. According to the bench, RCB failed to get police permission before publicising its victory parade, leading to an overwhelming crowd estimated between 3 and 5 lakh people descending on a stadium that holds only 35,000. Posts on RCB’s Instagram page between 7am and 3:14pm that day invited fans to the stadium with a promise of free entry—without ever informing the police. 

The bench, made up of Justice BK Shrivastava and Santosh Mehra, didn’t hold back in its criticism. “RCB unilaterally and without consultation with the city police created a situation of chaos,” the order read. It added sharply that “in such a scenario, the police were not equipped with any ‘Aladdin ka Chirag’ to magically control the gathering.” 

Adding to the controversy, the tribunal also criticized the Karnataka government’s decision to suspend five senior police officials immediately after the tragedy. It overturned the suspension of senior IPS officer Vikash Kumar Vikash, who was then Additional Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru West, stating that the action against him was “mechanical” and lacked proper evidence or procedure. The tribunal has now ordered his reinstatement with full pay. 

According to the order, RCB, along with its event management partner DNA Entertainment and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), didn’t follow the rules for organising a public event. As per city guidelines, an event of this size requires official clearance at least a week in advance, along with payment of applicable fees. But in this case, the only form of communication was a letter sent to the local Cubbon Park police station just a day before the parade. That letter never made it to the senior officers in charge. 

The state government, under CM Siddaramaiah, had moved quickly to suspend Commissioner of Police B Dayananda, Additional Commissioner Vikash, DCP Shekhar H Tekkannavar, ACP C Balakrishna, and PI A K Girish—all within hours of the stampede. While the three IPS officers were suspended under national disciplinary rules, the others were dealt with under state police rules. 

But now, the tribunal's findings have shifted the spotlight back to RCB and its failure to follow basic legal procedures—putting fan safety at risk in what was supposed to be a moment of celebration.