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Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
RCB fully responsible for stampede, K'taka govt tells high court
The Karnataka government on Wednesday told the High Court that IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) bore full responsibility for the deadly stampede outside Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4, which left 11 people dead and several others injured. Opposing the bail plea of RCB's head of marketing, Nikhil Sosale, who was arrested by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) on June 6, the state submitted that RCB's last-minute social media posts, including announcements about free passes and open invitations to the team's victory celebration, triggered the massive and unmanageable crowd buildup. The submissions were made before Justice SR Krishna Kumar, who has reserved orders on Sosale's bail application and is expected to pronounce the verdict on June 12. Terming the entire celebration 'illegal,' the government argued that RCB neither sought the requisite permissions nor implemented necessary safety measures to manage an event that ultimately drew lakhs of people. 'There was no permission taken. What they submitted was an intimation—not a formal request seeking approval,' Advocate General (AG) Shashi Kiran Shetty told the court. 'They tweeted to the world, inviting lakhs of fans without specifying who could enter or what protocols applied. The entire event violated legal norms,' he added. The AG cited multiple posts made from RCB's official handle on X (formerly Twitter) between 11:30 pm on June 3 and 8:55 am on June 4. These posts announced a victory parade from Vidhana Soudha to the stadium but offered no details on ticketing, crowd control, or security arrangements. When Justice Kumar asked whether the state's position was that RCB was 'completely responsible,' the AG replied: 'Yes. They have tried to shift the blame to the State, but the entire responsibility lies with them. The event was illegal under the Karnataka Police Act and Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with disobedience to lawful orders. This has criminal consequences.' Defending Sosale, senior advocate Sandesh Chouta argued that the marketing head was being unfairly targeted. 'He is merely an employee, not a decision-maker. He cannot be held vicariously liable for actions taken by the company,' Chouta told the court. Chouta also pointed out that Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar had publicly invited people to the event, but the AG refuted this claim. When the bench sought clarity on Sosale's personal responsibility, Justice Kumar observed: 'He is not even a director; just a marketing official. You cannot conflate the company with the individual. Show us a document where it's his responsibility to seek permission.' In response, the AG cited a tri-partite agreement between RCB, BCCI and KSCA to underline RCB's obligations but admitted that the document did not directly implicate Sosale. However, Shetty maintained: 'We have identified the right person for arrest based on the investigation so far.' Chouta further argued that the arrest was procedurally flawed, pointing out that it took place on June 6, even though the investigation had been officially transferred to the CID on June 5. The AG, however, countered that local police were well within their rights to act until the handover was formally completed and insisted the arrest was lawful. Sosale has also challenged the legality of his arrest, alleging that it was carried out at the behest of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah -- an act he contends exceeds the CM's constitutional authority in criminal investigations.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Government tells court RCB's relentless tweeting resulted in Bengaluru stampede
Bengaluru: The state govt on Monday pinned the blame squarely on Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) IPL franchise for the stampede outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4 that killed 11 people and left 75 others injured. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Referring to successive tweets put out by RCB on the day of the incident, Karnataka govt told the high court those tweets led to a huge public gathering in the city. Appearing for the state govt and police, advocate general (AG) Shashikiran Shetty submitted that while the team was still in Ahmedabad after winning the IPL final, RCB put out multiple tweets, declaring they would hold a victory rally in Bengaluru — without obtaining any permission from the govt. Additional state public prosecutor B N Jagadeesh, too, raised the same point in his submission before the court. Shetty further said the franchise had invited all and sundry in its subsequent tweets to attend the victory celebrations, with 13 crore people viewing those tweets. While arrangements were made for an estimated turnout of about 1.5 lakh people, the actual turnout was much larger primarily because of those tweets. Earlier, senior advocate Sandesh Chouta, appearing for Nikhil Sosale, the marketing and revenue head of RCB, argued that Sosale's arrest was illegal. According to him, Sosale was arrested by Central Crime Branch (CCB) sleuths and not by Cubbon Park police who had registered the case. He wondered how CCB came into the picture when the govt had handed over the probe to CID. Referring to verbal directives issued by chief minister Siddaramaiah to arrest officials of RCB and DNA Entertainment Ltd, Chouta said such orders cannot be issued since the investigation falls under the domain of the police. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now In view of Chouta's claim, Justice SR Krishna Kumar questioned the state govt whether the CM had indeed issued any such instruction. Responding to the judge's observation that "At best, the CM could say that 'the accused would be arrested in accordance with law'," the AG said he would verify that. Opposing grant of any interim relief to RCB, the AG further claimed that petitioners RCB made more than Rs 450 crore from IPL. "They announced some Rs 10 lakh compensation. They did not bother to care about those who lost their lives and suffered injuries. They did not bother to visit those families," he added while pointing out that granting any interim relief is akin to granting final relief, which would seriously affect the ongoing investigation. The hearing was adjourned to Tuesday.
The Print
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Bengaluru stampede: Arrested by CCB on CM's direction, claims RCB official in HC
In his petition, Sosale submitted he was arrested on the directions of the Chief Minister. The HC restrained police from taking any coercive action against officials of RCB and event partner DNA Entertainment Pvt Ltd till June 12 and posted the matter for further hearing that day. Bengaluru, Jun 9 (PTI) The Karnataka High Court on Monday did not grant interim relief to Nikhil Sosale, head of marketing, RCB, who was arrested on June 6 in connection with the fatal stampede near M Chinnaswamy Stadium, and adjourned the matter for hearing on Tuesday. RCB and DNA had moved the court challenging the FIR registered against them in connection with the June 4 stampede that occurred during a celebratory event to mark RCB's maiden IPL triumph a day earlier. Justice S R Krishna Kumar posted the matter for hearing on June 12. 'There is a gentleman's understanding — don't do anything till we take up the matter,' the judge told the state government, warning against unnecessary arrests. The court also noted that the petition involving Sosale, already under arrest, would be taken up separately at 10.30 am on June 10. On Monday, Sosale's lawyer submitted before the court that the Central Crime Branch sleuths arrested the RCB official because CM Siddaramaiah ordered his arrest. The RCB official was arrested at Bengaluru Airport, as he was heading to Dubai, on an FIR filed in the aftermath of the stampede. Sosale's petition questioned the legality of his June 6 early morning arrest and alleged police action was influenced by political directives. Justice Krishna Kumar, hearing the case, focused on key questions around jurisdiction, procedure, and political influence behind the arrest. Sosale's counsel, senior advocate Sandesh Chouta argued that the arrest at 4.30 am on June 6 was not backed by any legal basis. 'The first question is, did the chief minister issue a direction to arrest? The second is whether the police officers had the power to arrest Sosale,' Chouta submitted. He insisted the arrest was made by the Central Crime Branch (CCB), and not the police unit investigating the case. 'At the time of arrest, the person being arrested must be informed of the reason and the identity of the arresting officer. None of this was followed,' he contended. 'This arrest has not happened in view of any investigation, but merely because some directions were issued by the chief minister,' Chouta alleged, adding that there was no criminal intent (mens rea) in the incident, which was a celebratory event gone wrong. Referring to the D K Basu judgment on arrest procedures, Chouta said, 'You cannot just pick someone up without informing them of the grounds. My client was with his wife and two-year-old child. His Article 21 rights were violated,' held the petitioner's lawyer. Chouta also pointed out that by 2.30 pm on June 5, Karnataka itself had submitted before the court that the investigation had been transferred to the CID, raising doubts over CCB's jurisdiction. 'How did CCB come into the picture when the case had been transferred to CID? Even the remand application acknowledged that CID was now investigating the matter,' Chouta said. Advocate General Shashikiran Shetty, representing the state, objected to the wide-ranging arguments, pointing out they went beyond the scope of the original petition. 'None of this is there in Sosale's pleadings. I need to be put on notice. This 38-page memo is much more than what is in the petition,' he said, adding the state needed time to respond. When the judge asked whether the chief minister had openly stated that arrests would be made, the AG said he would need to verify and place original records before the court. Defending the timing of the arrest, Shetty said, 'Officials were only doing their job. It's not like he was having lunch at a restaurant. He was headed to the international airport at 5 in the morning – what are they supposed to do?' The AG insisted that Sosale's remand had already taken place, making interim relief unnecessary. 'Interim order cannot be more than final order,' he said. Justice Krishna Kumar also questioned if any prima facie material existed at the time of Sosale's arrest. Referring to a Supreme Court judgment in the Arnab Goswami case, the judge noted that interim bail can be granted in the absence of such material. The judge observed: 'Forget the CID for a moment – this says Cubbon Park Police handed over the case to Ashok Nagar Police, which then requested the CCB to arrest. The point is, once the matter was transferred to CID, did anyone else have the jurisdiction?' Royal Challengers Sports Limited (RCSL), owner of RCB, has contended that it has been falsely implicated in the case. RCSL claimed that it had clearly communicated on social media that only limited passes were available. It also said that even for free passes, pre-registration was mandatory for entry. It alleged that stadium gates, which were supposed to open at 1.45 pm, were actually opened only at 3 pm, causing a crowd surge. DNA said in its petition that the incident occurred due to failure of crowd management by the police. It also claimed that most police personnel were posted at the Vidhana Soudha, leaving the stadium understaffed despite a surging crowd. PTI COR JR AMP KH KH SA This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
