Clearance for charge sheet in June 4 stampede case still pending, KSCA gets nod to host IPL matches at Chinnaswamy stadium

The approval followed recommendations of a Government Expert Committee constituted to assess safety arrangements at the stadium. KSCA had applied for the clearance in December 2025 to host matches in the first half of 2026 after an earlier review of the stadium’s safety flagged concerns and delayed the clearance for hosting games at the stadium.

Following the clearance by the committee, KSCA president Venkatesh Prasad said the RCB must make efforts to keep their IPL matches at Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy cricket stadium as they are obligated to their fanbase in the city.

However, the Karnataka High Court, which is hearing cases challenging FIRs filed by the Bengaluru police against RCB, KSCA and event management firm DNA Entertainment Networks over the June 4 stampede, is yet to accord a clearance for filing chargesheets.

The HC had issued a directive on July 8, 2025, to the CID police, who are investigating the stampede, not to file a chargesheet in the June 4 Bengaluru cricket stadium stampede case, in which 11 people were killed.

The Special Public Prosecutor in the case, B T Venkatesh, said the chargesheet in the case had been prepared and that a clearance from the high court is awaited to file the chargesheet. “A memo was moved in HC in December for filing the chargesheet; the clearance is awaited,” the SPP said.

Changes in the HC benches following the winter break in December are reported to have caused a delay in the clearance of the chargesheet.

On July 8, 2025, the Karnataka High Court passed an order in writ petitions filed by RCB, KSCA and DNA officials for quashing of the cases against them, stating that “respondents are directed not to file the final report without the leave of the Court.”

The court had previously directed the police not to take any coercive steps, “nor arrest the petitioners,” and also granted bail to two officials of RCB and DNA who had been arrested soon after the first FIR was registered on June 5 over the June 4 stampede.

The RCB has announced a memorial for the 11 fans who died in the stampede and an enhanced compensation of Rs 25 lakh for the families of the victims. On January 22, the CEO and owner of the Serum Institute of India, Adar Poonawalla, said he was looking to buy RCB. Earlier, Diageo, the parent company of RCB, had announced an intent in November 2025 to divest its stake in the RCB cricket team with a “strategic review”.

“Over the next few months we will be putting in a strong and competitive bid for @RCBTweets, one of the best teams in the IPL,” Poonawalla said in a social media post.

The Bengaluru police registered three FIRs on June 5 over the June 4 stadium stampede case against the RCB, KSCA and the event management firm DNA Entertainment Networks. The CID unit of the Karnataka Police was asked to probe the criminality involved in the stadium stampede case, where the culpable homicide section was invoked in the FIR.

The Karnataka government suspended (and later reinstated) three IPS officers along with two jurisdictional policemen, after the Karnataka HC took up a suo motu petition to bring about corrective measures and SOPs to prevent stampedes. The suo motu plea is also pending in the HC.

Incidentally, a judicial commission headed by Justice (retd) John Michael D’Cunha, which was set up by the Karnataka government to probe the Bengaluru cricket stadium stampede, has recommended legal action against multiple officials of the RCB, event managers DNA Entertainment Networks, KSCA and the Bengaluru police.

Conditional nod

Under the conditional nod given by the state to KSCA on January 17, KSCA must complete all works and safety measures recommended at the cricket stadium within the stipulated time frame. In addition, KSCA is required to implement any additional safety and security measures mandated under international standards while hosting matches.

The government has clarified that, as the stadium’s safety upgrades are still underway, it is not possible at present to determine the number of spectators who may be permitted to attend matches. Approval of crowd strength will be granted strictly in accordance with the committee’s recommendations, the government has stated.

The safety concerns at the stadium led authorities to deny permission for a Vijay Hazare Trophy match scheduled at the stadium in December 2025, resulting in it being moved to the BCCI Centre of Excellence on the outskirts of Bengaluru.

The state government said that its January 17 order reflects the intent to balance the continuation of high-profile cricketing events at a historic venue with a focus on public safety, infrastructure readiness, and regulatory oversight.

KSCA president Venkatesh Prasad said this week that he hoped for the RCB management to join efforts to ensure that all seven IPL home matches of RCB, including the inaugural match, will be held in Bengaluru. “We want them to engage with the government for smooth conduct of matches,” Venkatesh Prasad said.

‘Welcome Karnataka government’s decision’

“We welcome Karnataka Government’s decision to allow matches to be held in the iconic M Chinnaswamy Stadium, and we also recognise and highly appreciate KSCA’s efforts in the ongoing infrastructure work that has led to this conditional approval to host matches.

“While our desire is always to play at our home ground, in front of our ardent fans, we want to be thorough in our commitment to further understand the conditions applicable to host matches here and the measures taken to ensure fans’ safety protocols are met,” RCB said in a statement following KSCA press briefing.

“From our preliminary conversations, there are still a few grey areas that need to be looked into, and we are considering these parameters and inputs from all stakeholders before arriving at a responsible decision for the team and our fans,” the RCB statement said.