RCB Stampede: Karnataka High Court Orders Disclosure of Inquiry Report

The Karnataka High Court has directed the state government to provide a copy of the status report on the June 4 stampede at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium to the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and DNA Entertainment Networks.

The court said that the report, previously submitted in a sealed cover, cannot be withheld on grounds cited by the state, adding that such confidentiality is limited to matters of national security, public interest, or individual privacy, as laid out by the Supreme Court. The bench noted that none of these criteria apply in the present case.

A division bench comprising Acting Chief Justice V Kameswar Rao and Justice C M Joshi made the ruling on July 14 (Monday) while hearing a suo motu PIL on the stampede incident, which took place outside the stadium during RCB’s IPL title celebration.

Rejecting the state’s argument that disclosure might impact ongoing inquiries by a judicial commission and a magistrate, the court said such concerns were speculative. It emphasised that senior retired judges and All-India Service officers leading those probes were unlikely to be influenced by the status report.

The bench further observed that sharing the report with involved parties would support the court’s effort to determine the cause of the incident, identify accountability, and recommend preventive measures. Withholding the report while expecting cooperation from these parties would be "unfair," the court remarked.

“If the sealed cover is opened and the report is shared with the respondents, they can help the court better understand the sequence of events, contributing factors, and whether the tragedy was avoidable,” the court said.