Bengaluru: In a major embarrassment to the State government, the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has set aside the government order of suspending IPS officer Vikas Kumar for dereliction during RCB victory parade on June 4, leading to a stampede where 11 persons lost their lives.
Vikas Kumar was Bengaluru City Additional Commissioner of Police at that time and had approached CAT against his suspension, after the UPSC accepted the recommendation made by the State government.
Karnataka | The Central Administrative Tribunal has revoked the suspension order of IPS officer Vikas Kumar, Additional Commissioner of Police, who was present on the day of the RCB victory parade stampede at M Chinnaswamy stadium. He was suspended along with other officers.
— ANI (@ANI) July 1, 2025
Apart from revoking the suspension of Vikas Kumar, the CAT bench comprising Justice B K Srivatsava and Justice Santhosh Mehra hoped that the State government would extend the same directions to the other police officers, who are suspended on similar grounds..
The CAT bench noted that the RCB was responsible for around 3-5 lakh people gathering around the stadium. The RCB had given a call for victory parade without taking police permission. It is highly impossible for the police to extend security for such a large crowd within such a short span of time. The entire tragedy was the creation of RCB, the bench noted.
Chinnaswamy Stampede Case: Central Administrative Tribunal Holds RCB Responsible For Tragedy, Says 'Suddenly Posted On Social Media'``Police personnel are also human beings. They are neither magicians, nor they possess Allauddin's lamp to do magic. Police should have been given some time to make preparations. Without proper reasons, the police personnel have been suspended. The suspension of the Additional Commissioner of Police (West) should be revoked and should be reinstated immediately. The suspension period should be considered as service only and the bench hopes that the government would extend the same facility to other police personnel, who have been suspended,' the CAT bench noted.
POWER STRUGGLE: Meanwhile, Chinnaswamy stadium, which was at eye of the storm during RCB victory parade, is in trouble again with the Karnataka High Court issuing notice to BESCOM, Chinnaswamy stadium and the Fire Force and Emergency Services Department for supplying power despite not having NOC from the Fire Department.
On June 16, the BESCOM had cut the power supply to Chinnaswamy stadium, since they did not possess NOC from the Fire Force and Emergency Services department. The Chinnaswamy stadium approached the Karnataka High Court, challenging the decision of the BESCOM.
The counsel for Chinnaswamy stadium argued that the Fire Force and Emergency Services DGP had raised certain questions. Though the stadium authorities had fulfilled the majority of these requirements, without listening to the explanation, the BESCOM had cut the power supply.
However, Karnataka High Court judge Justice Sunil Dutt Yadav was not amused by this argument. He came down heavily on BESCOM for extending power connections to Chinnaswamy stadium, which did not possess a NOC.
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah Hikes Compensation For Chinnaswamy Stadium Stampede Victims’ Families From ₹10 Lakh To ₹25 Lakh``Already a lot of damage has been caused, and we don't want to witness more. Who will be responsible if more unfortunate incidents take place? The court would not tolerate such action of extending power supply to the organisations just because some influential people intervened,'' the bench noted.
The court issued notices to BESCOM, Chinnaswamy stadium as well as Fire Force and Emergency Services DGP.
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