RCB moves Karnataka High Court to challenge CAT order over stampede liability

New Delhi: Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) has filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court seeking to overturn the Central Administrative Tribunal’s (CAT) findings, which held the IPL franchise “prima facie responsible” for the stampede outside Chinnaswamy Stadium that left 11 dead and several others injured.

The fatal incident took place on June 4, when an unregulated crowd of approximately five lakh people gathered near the stadium to celebrate RCB’s first Indian Premier League (IPL) title in 18 years. The stadium has a seating capacity of 33,000 and was unable to accommodate the unexpected surge of fans. The stampede led to one of the deadliest crowd disasters in the country in recent years.

According to the report, RCB failed to obtain police permission or communicate plans for the event in advance. “The RCB did not take the appropriate permission or consent from the Police. Suddenly, they posted on social media platforms and as a result of aforesaid information the public were gathered... the RCB created the aforesaid type of nuisance without any prior permission,” CAT observed.

The tribunal held that the sudden announcement of the celebratory event gave law enforcement no time to make adequate crowd control arrangements. In response to these findings, RCB has approached the Karnataka High Court in an effort to have the CAT order set aside.

The move follows the High Court’s earlier decision to grant interim relief to RCB and its event management partner DNA Entertainment Networks. The court had temporarily restrained the Bengaluru police from making arrests or taking coercive action against the officials of both organisations while investigations continue.

Legal scrutiny around the incident has intensified, with competing narratives emerging. While state officials have alleged that the event was held without proper notification, organisers maintain that the authorities were aware of the scale and failed to ensure adequate police deployment.

A criminal case has since been registered against RCB, DNA, and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), which is responsible for operations at Chinnaswamy Stadium. KSCA has already secured interim protection from arrest. RCB’s marketing head, Nikhil Sosale, who was briefly detained following the incident, has also been granted interim bail.