Officer Made a Scapegoat, Claims Defense Counsel as Court Reviews Crowd Mismanagement Allegations
In a dramatic development during hearings on the tragic June 4 stampede outside M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, senior IPS officer Vikash Kumar Vikash informed the Karnataka High Court that the public announcement urging fans to gather at the stadium was not made by police independently—but instead originated from the steps of Vidhana Soudha, following the official state ceremony celebrating Royal Challengers Bangalore’s IPL victory.
Public Call Origin Sparks Fresh Debate
Appearing before Justices S.G. Pandit and T.M. Nadaf, Senior Advocate Dhyan Chinnappa, counsel for Mr. Vikash Kumar, argued that the announcement was delivered after the felicitation program ended, and that the officer’s subsequent suspension lacked procedural fairness or credible evidence.
He contended that Mr. Vikash Kumar, along with other senior police officials, were unfairly made scapegoats in the wake of the stampede, which claimed 11 lives and left many injured.
State’s Allegations: Dereliction of Duty and Unauthorized Action
The State Government’s submission accused police officers of behaving “like servants of RCB” and alleged that poor crowd control led to chaos. Government counsel P.S. Rajgopal maintained that Mr. Vikash Kumar failed to exercise powers under Section 35 of the Karnataka Police Act, which permits officers to intervene in situations likely to cause public disorder. He claimed Mr. Vikash was fully aware of the intended celebration and should have acted accordingly.
Defense Asserts Suspension Was Symbolic, Not Substantive
Mr. Chinnappa countered that suspension based purely on dereliction of duty without due administrative process violates service norms. He further highlighted that the government’s own status report to the High Court acknowledged that the suspension was imposed as a gesture of accountability, rather than being based on proven misconduct.
Previously, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) had quashed the suspension order on July 1, though the state government is now contesting that decision in the High Court.
Next Steps
The matter will be heard again on Friday, as the division bench continues evaluating the legal basis of the suspension and the responsibility framework for crowd management during major public events.
