CAT Holds RCB 'Prima Facie' Responsible For Bengaluru Stampede (image-X/Sports_Himanshu)

New Delhi: The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Tuesday ruled that the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is prima facie responsible for the events of the stampede at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. The stampede occurred following the maiden victory of RCB, claiming 11 lives. The Tribunal had also quashed the suspension of Vikash Kumar, who was serving as Additional Commissioner of Police (West) at the time.

In its order, the CAT noted that prior permission for the stadium event was not obtained in accordance with the prescribed rules. The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) had written a letter to the Inspector of Cubbon Park Police Station on June 3, a day before the final match, and this had been a violation of the Licensing and Controlling of Assemblies and Public Procession (Bengaluru City) Order, 2009.

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As per the order, event organisers have to seek permission at least seven days in advance from the Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) and submit a security deposit. However, none of these were followed, and no letter was submitted to the Additional Commissioner.

Moreover, the RCB had announced the victory parade repeatedly on June 4 through its social media handles without taking appropriate permission or consent from the police. And thus, CAT observed that “prima facie, it appears that the RCB is responsible for the gathering of about three to five lakh people.”

“Upon the basis of this letter, prima facie, the police was not bound to give any facilities or to provide any support. Despite that, the police provided the proper arrangements as far as possible,” CAT said.

The Tribunal revoked the suspension, stating that the suspension order “has been passed in a mechanical manner” and was “not based upon any convincing materials.” They also observed that the officer had been suspended without “sufficient material or grounds.”

The order from the Tribunal could affect more people, as it suggested that the government should give the same relief to other officers who were suspended in the same case. These officers include former Bengaluru Police Commissioner B. Dayananda, former DCP (Central) H.T. Shekhar, former Cubbon Park ACP Balakrishna, and former Cubbon Park Inspector Girish.

The ruling would be a setback for the Karnataka government, since Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had personally announced the suspension at a press conference. As per a Sportstar report, the order is likely to be challenged in the Karnataka High Court.

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In the order passed by Justice B.K. Srivastava and Administrative Member Santosh Mehra of the CAT’s Bengaluru Bench, the Tribunal observed that the police were also human beings — not “Gods or magicians” with the power of an “Aladdin’s lamp” to conjure up adequate arrangements at such short notice.

They further noted that there wasn’t sufficient time available to the police for making the arrangements. “Sufficient time was not given to the police… It cannot be expected from the police that within a short time of about 12 hours the police will make all arrangements,” it said.