Bengaluru IPL stampede: Karnataka HC bars police from filing chargesheet until it hears pleas from RCB and KSCA seeking quashing of FIRs

Special Public Prosecutor B T Venkatesh argued that the chargesheet is ready and should be permitted to be filed in the appropriate court. He also stated that submitting the report would allow the state government to present its account of what occurred.

Justice Nagaprasanna then remarked that the hands of the state will not be tied; it will be allowed to produce any material collected and part of the chargesheet, nor will the petitioners object that the state cannot produce this material. Further, the court said it can always go through the material collected while deciding the petitions. Accordingly, the court directed Venkatesh to file in a sealed envelope the chargesheet material for its perusal, before the next date of hearing.

The court has now posted the batch of petitions for further hearing on March 16 and directed the police to file their objections to the petition before then.

The June 4 stampede at the Chinnaswamy Stadium occurred during the victory celebration of the RCB men’s team, in which 11 people were killed. The HC issued a directive on July 8 to the CID police investigating the stampede, not to file a chargesheet.

The incident resulted in the suspension, and later reinstatement, of five police officers, including three senior IPS officials. A judicial commission led by Justice Michael D’Cunha previously blamed the organisers for “reckless announcements” and failing to coordinate with the police.

Conversely, the organisers argue the stampede occurred outside the stadium due to inadequate police crowd control and the government’s last-minute change of the parade route to Vidhana Soudha.