Officials from the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) and the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) approached the Karnataka High Court on Friday in connection with the First Information Reports (FIR) filed against them following a stampede near Chinnaswamy Stadium. The incident, which took place following RCB’s first IPL trophy, had left
A single-judge bench of Justice S R Krishna Kumar granted interim protection from arrest to senior KSCA officials, contingent on their cooperation with the police investigation. Nikhil Sosale, head of marketing at , did not receive similar relief and his case is scheduled to be heard next week.
Friday at Kempegowda International Airport, along with Sunil Mathew of DNA, an event management firm involved in the event.
On Thursday, the Karnataka High Court had taken suo motu cognizance of the incident after receiving an initial briefing from Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty. The court has directed the state to submit a status report by June 10, the next date of hearing.
During Friday’s proceedings, Sosale’s legal team contested his arrest, arguing that it was politically motivated and carried out on the instructions of the Chief Minister, without a proper inquiry. The court declined to issue interim relief, stating that it would first hear arguments from the state.
KSCA, in its petition, maintained that its role was limited to renting out the stadium and facilitating government permissions. Responsibility for ticketing and crowd control, it argued, lay with RCB, the event organizer, and law enforcement authorities.
“The incident was an accident due to sudden rush,” the petition stated, “and no intention or motive can be attributed particularly to the petitioners (KSCA) because the gate management and crowd management… was of RCB, organiser and police. The KSCA Managing Committee… does not deal with the audience and spectators or fans.”
KSCA also contended that police should have conducted a preliminary inquiry before filing the FIR, and questioned the delay in registering the case.
