The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Tuesday set aside the Karnataka government’s order suspending Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) Vikash Kumar Vikash in the wake of the recent Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede that left 11 people dead..A coram of members BK Shrivastava and Santosh Mehra observed that the suspension order was passed mechanically without sufficient grounds."In view of this Tribunal the (government) order Annexure - A3 has been passed in a mechanical manner and the order is not based upon the convincing materials. The Police officers have been suspended without any sufficient material or grounds. Hence, the aforesaid order is liable to be quashed," the tribunal said. It thus directed the State to reinstate Vikash immediately..11 people died and 56 people were left injured after a stampede took place outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on June 4, where a large crowd had gathered to greet the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) cricket team after they won the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025.Thereafter, the Karnataka government suspended Vikash, B Dayananda, Shekar H Tekkannavar, C Balakrishna (Assistant Commissioner of Police, Cubbon Park) and AK Girish (Police Inspector, Cubbon Park) in connection with the tragedy for dereliction of duty.Vikash then moved CAT challenging the suspension order..His counsel argued that the suspension was issued without issuing a show cause notice or without granting him any opportunity to present his case. It was further contended that suspension was an extreme measure and should only be imposed in case of grave misconduct, corruption, criminal negligence etc. With the magisterial inquiry still pending and no preliminary findings against him, the suspension was unjustified and should be quashed, he added.The State counsel contended that the primary responsibility of the police is crime prevention, and the circumstances surrounding the June 4 tragedy prima facie indicated a failure in policing by the jurisdictional Bengaluru City Police..The government had found that there had been "a substantial dereliction of duty” on the part of Vikash and other. However, the CAT held that the basis for this conclusion was unclear as the suspension order does not explain how such a finding was made before the inquiry was completed.It also noted that the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) had only intimated the Inspector of Police, Cubbon Park of the RCB victory parade, and not Vikash."After mentioning the name of 5 officers, it is mentioned in the order that the CEO of RCB had intimated Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru City on 03.06.2025 about holding the victory parade and celebration on 04.06.2025. The aforesaid portion of the order is not correct because the respondents did not submit the copy of any intimation submitted to the Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru on 03.06.2025. The respondents himself submitted the copy of letter Annexure - R2 in this regard," the CAT stated.Further, it highlighted that RCB did not apply for permission to undertake the victory procession in line with the Licensing and Controlling of Assemblies and Public Processions (Bengaluru City) Order, 2009.Moreover, it said that until the magisterial inquiry and the inquiry commission were ordered, the government was not in a position to determine which individuals or officers were responsible for the stampede..Coming to RCB's role in creating the chaos that led to the stampede, the tribunal said,"Without obtaining the permission from the Police or without the consent of concerned Police Officers, the franchise of RCB placed the information to the public on social media platforms."It added that RCB was prima facie responsible for the gathering of about 3-5 lakh people, at a stadium which had a capacity of 35,000."RCB did not take the appropriate permission or consent from the Police. Suddenly, they posted on social media platforms and as a result of aforesaid information the public were gathered. Because of shortage of time on 04.06.2026, the Police was unable to do the appropriate arrangements. Sufficient time was not given to the Police."The CAT observed that in such a scenario, the police did not have magic powers or "Alladin ka Chirag" to control the gathering..With these observations, the tribunal allowed the plea and set aside the suspension order issued against Vikash. It also urged the government to extend relief to other officers aggrieved by the government action."We also feel our duty to draw attention of the State Government towards the settled principle of law that where a citizen aggrieved by an action of government department has approached the Court and obtain a declaration of law in his/her favour, other similarly situated ought to be extended the benefit without the need for them to come to Court," the tribunal said..Senior Advocate Dhyan Chinnappa along with advocate Dhanush Menon appeared for Vikash.Additional Advocate General Reuben Jacob and advocate M Rajakumar appeared for the State..[Read Order]
