By News Karnataka
The Karnataka high court on Thursday described as excessive the state鈥檚 decision to suspend five senior police officials linked to the June 4 stampede outside Bengaluru鈥檚 M Chinnaswamy Stadium. The tragic incident occurred during Royal Challengers Bengaluru鈥檚 IPL victory celebration and led to 11 deaths, sparking widespread criticism of security preparations.
A division bench comprising Justices SG Pandit and TM Nadaf asked the state鈥檚 advocate general, Shashikiran Shetty, whether transferring the officers to other roles could have been a more suitable disciplinary measure. The court was hearing the government鈥檚 plea against the Central Administrative Tribunal鈥檚 July 1 order, which annulled the suspension of IPS officer Vikash Kumar Vikash, then additional commissioner of police (West).
Calling the suspension 鈥渕echanical鈥 and lacking adequate grounds, the tribunal ordered Vikash鈥檚 immediate reinstatement and advised the state to consider similar relief for the other four officers, including the city鈥檚 then police commissioner B Dayananda. The advocate general argued the tribunal had acted hastily and exceeded its jurisdiction by suggesting reinstatement of officials not party to the proceedings. He insisted the suspension was justified due to negligence in duty.
While declining to stay the tribunal鈥檚 directive, the high court scheduled further hearings for July 9 and cautioned Vikash against taking any further action. Vikash鈥檚 counsel assured the bench he would wait for the court鈥檚 decision, emphasizing that RCB had announced free passes without securing police consent, limiting time for security arrangements.