Chinnaswamy Stampede: Karnataka High Court restrains arrest of RCB, DNA reps

The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday restrained the Bengaluru police from arresting or taking any coercive action against the officials of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) or the event management company DNA in the case related to the June 4 Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede..Justice SR Krishna Kumar also recorded the statement of the Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) that the police will not act on the two subsequent FIRs registered in connection with the same case. The SPP said that the probe will continue only in the FIR which is being investigated by the Crime Investigation Department (CID)."It is also submitted that since the investigation is underway, they [police] will not proceed further in terms of crime numbers 124/2025 and 125/2025 since the contents of the FIR and the subject are one and the same and they arise out of the same action," the Court recorded in its order. Further, the Court ordered the petitioners (RCB and DNA) to cooperate with the investigation. Justice Kumar said that this arrangement will continue till the next date of hearing on July 8. .The Bench passed the order while dealing with petitions filed by Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited (RCSPL) - the company that owns RCB - and event management company DNA.DNA had organised the RCB team's victory celebrations at Chinnaswamy stadium, after their recent win in Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket.Both companies are among those accused in criminal cases registered in connection with the stampede that took place outside the Chinnaswamy stadium on June 4. .Chinnaswamy stampede: Karnataka High Court grants interim bail to RCB marketing head, DNA reps.The stampede unfolded after a huge crowd of people gathered at the stadium in hopes of meeting the RCB cricket team after their first IPL victory in 18 years. Around 5 lakh people are said to have rushed to the stadium to take part in the event, although the stadium was meant to accommodate only around 33,000 people.Eleven people died and 56 were left injured in the ensuing stampede.The State blamed the event organisers for holding the event without proper intimation to the State authorities, and the organisers blamed the State authorities for not taking sufficient steps to manage the anticipated crowd. A criminal case was registered against officials of RCB, the event management company DNA and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), which makes decisions on renting out the stadium.All accused companies eventually moved the High Court, challenging the criminal cases registered against them. The KSCA has already been granted interim relief by the High Court in connection with the same matter. Further, officials of DNA and RCB, including RCB's marketing head Nikhil Sosale, who were earlier arrested in the case, have also been granted interim bail. .Notably, the High Court has also initiated a suo motu case in the matter. A Bench of Acting Chief Justice V Kameswar Rao and Justice CM Joshi today impleaded the KSCA, RCB and DNA, making them formal parties to this suo motu case. The Court also indicated that it would be appointing an amicus to assist it in the matter. It had earlier sought a status report from the State on what were the factors that led to the stampede and what measures should be put in place to prevent such tragedies in future. The State has submitted a report in a sealed cover. This matter will be heard next on June 23, Monday.