The Karnataka High Court has taken serious note of the stampede incident that occurred outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru during an event to celebrate Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) win in the 2025 IPL final. In a suo motu petition registered to examine the circumstances surrounding the tragedy, the court has directed notices to be issued to the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited (RCSPL), and event management company DNA Entertainment Ltd.
The division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice V M Kameshwar Rao and Justice C M Joshi passed the direction while reviewing the status report submitted by the state government.
We have perused the status report of state govt, we are of the view that KSCA, RCB and DNA be made party respondents to these proceedings and notice be issued,the bench stated.
Registry shall serve the notice on the added respondents. Notice be served on or before Friday. We will call it (relist matter) on Monday for their appearance, the court added.
The bench also indicated its intention to appoint an amicus curiae to assist with the proceedings.
During the hearing, the court questioned the state government’s decision to submit the status report in a sealed cover. Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty defended the approach, saying that the government had no intention to hide facts but wanted to avoid media sensationalism.
“We are not shying away from anything. Let the inquiry committee reports come, milords. We have made certain statements (in the status report) which will flash out in TV and news, there should not be any prejudice. State having made certain statements, it should not...We are going to place the facts as it progresses,” he submitted.
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However, this reasoning was challenged by multiple intervenors in the matter. A counsel for one of the intervenors stressed that transparency and accountability were critical and objected to the sealed cover approach.
Advocate G R Mohan, representing another intervenor, remarked:
All three investigations (police, magisterial inquiry and one member judicial commission) are going on parallelly, still no report is placed before the court. Nobody knows how many people gathered outside the stadium. There was an intelligence failure on part of the state government.
Another counsel echoed the demand for openness, saying that only complete transparency can help the court address the key questions arising from the tragedy.
Senior Advocate S S Naganand, appearing for yet another applicant, strongly criticised the state’s position:
It is difficult for us to understand why the government is shy before the court. This cat and mouse game will be of no help. For argument if they make a false statement to the court we will not know about it. Only for that reason I say it should be disclosed.
The bench, after listening to these submissions, reiterated its stance.
“We will hear all and also have an amicus curiae in place to assist. We will issue notice to the three entities. We will not say anything on the intervention applications,” the court stated.
It, however, directed that the status report submitted by the state government be kept in a sealed cover.
The suo motu petition has been registered to determine the causes that led to the stampede, examine whether the incident could have been avoided, and explore what remedial measures can be adopted to prevent such tragedies in the future.
As per reports, the stampede resulted in the deaths of 11 individuals, with over 30 others injured. The incident occurred as massive crowds gathered outside the stadium for an event following RCB’s historic win over Punjab Kings in the IPL 2025 final on June 3. This victory marked RCB's first-ever IPL championship since the league’s inception in 2008.
Case Number: WP 16530/2025
