Bengaluru stampede: Karnataka moves HC against quashing of officer's suspension

Hindustan Times

a day ago

The Karnataka government on Wednesday moved the high court challenging the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) July 1 order quashing Indian Police Service officer Vikash Kumar Vikash's suspension following the June 4 stampede outside Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium, which left 11 people dead. The June 4 stampede outside Bengaluru's M Chinnaswamy Stadium left 11 people dead. (AFP)
Advocate general Shashikiran Shetty made an urgent mention before the court seeking an early hearing. He told a bench of justices SG Pandit and TM Nadaf that the CAT passed its order 'just yesterday,' and Vikash reported to duty on Wednesday. 'He has come in uniform to take charge,' Shetty told the court, which said it will hear the matter on Thursday.
The CAT called Vikash's suspension 'mechanical' and unsupported by sufficient material. It criticised the state for acting without due process and ordered the immediate reinstatement of Vikash, who was removed as the additional police commissioner after the stampede.
The CAT said the police had no prior notice of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)'s Indian Premier League victory parade, which triggered the stampede. It blamed RCB for unilaterally announcing the event via Instagram without informing the authorities.
The CAT also urged the state to reinstate the other four police officers, including the then police commissioner B Dayananda, suspended following the stampede.
The state government, in its appeal, called the tribunal's conclusions incorrect and premature. It argued that the CAT made its findings as if a 'full-fledged departmental inquiry had been concluded,' despite the judicial commission and magisterial probes still being underway.
'The revocation of the suspension at this critical juncture would have a direct bearing on the integrity of the ongoing enquiries and investigation. The presence of the applicant in service during this period may adversely affect the examination of witnesses and could potentially lead to tampering with evidence, thereby undermining the process of justice,' the state's plea said.
The government said the order suspending the officers was not impulsive but based on evidence showing the suspended officers were guilty of 'dereliction of duty.' It claimed that it placed sufficient material before CAT in a sealed cover, including 'excerpts from the Karnataka Police Manual and a sequence-of-events analysis.'
The government said yet, the tribunal disregarded this evidence, ordered that Vikash be reinstated immediately, and even went a step ahead, recommending that the four other suspended officers, who were neither petitioners nor parties to the case, be reinstated.
The government's appeal underscored a contradiction. It appears to challenge the tribunal's exoneration of its officers and the tribunal's prima facie attribution of blame to RCB. The state maintained in previous proceedings that the IPL franchise was solely responsible for the stampede.
The tribunal held that RCB announced free public entry, drawing massive crowds to the stadium, and failed to formally seek police permission or coordinate with authorities for the victory parade and celebrations.
The state government opposed bail and quashing petitions filed, including by RCB officials, and during the suo motu proceedings initiated by the high court to fix accountability following the stampede, arguing that the franchise alone was responsible for the tragedy.