CAT holds RCB responsible for Bengaluru stampede

• The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) ruled on July 1, 2025 that RCB’s unannounced victory celebration at Chinnaswamy Stadium—publicized via social media—triggered a massive crowd (estimated 300,000–500,000), leading to a tragic stampede on June 4 with 11 fatalities and over 50 injuries
• CAT emphasized that RCB didn’t obtain police permission or give adequate notice, leaving Bengaluru Police scrambling to manage crowd control
• They noted that police “aren’t magicians” and cannot handle such chaos on short notice .

2. Suspension of IPS officers overturned

• CAT also quashed the suspensions of senior IPS officer Vikash Kumar Vikash and others, pointing to RCB as the primary source of responsibility for the crowd mishap, not the police
• Karnataka’s state government may pursue an appeal, but CAT’s conclusion for now absolves the officers

📋 3. Next steps & implications

• An independent inquiry (led by a former High Court judge) is reportedly underway to further investigate the incident
• Legal consequences and civic backlash may compel RCB to tighten coordination protocols with civic bodies before planning any future public events.

Summary

CAT’s ruling clearly assigns initial legal responsibility to RCB for organizing and promoting an impromptu victory celebration without proper clearance—resulting in a deadly crowd crisis. While police were reinstated, the spotlight is now on RCB’s management and event planning.