Bengaluru Stampede case: CAT quashes Bengaluru cop’s suspension, slams govt over ‘mechanical’ action

The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Tuesday quashed the June 5 order suspending former additional police commissioner (west), Bengaluru, Vikash Kumar Vikash, and suggested to the government to similarly revoke the suspension of former police commissioner B Dayananda and DCP (Central) Shekhar H Tekkannavar in what appeared to be a strong rebuke to the government’s action.

Reacting to the development, chief minister Siddaramaiah said the government would decide on appealing against the CAT order.

The CM had, on June 5, announced the suspension of police officers holding them responsible for the stampede that occurred during Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s IPL victory celebrations at M Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4 which left 11 persons dead and scores of fans injured.


A CAT bench consisting of Justice BK Shrivastava and member Santosh Mehra, while asking the government to reinstate Vikash Kumar immediately, noted that the order of suspensions of police officers had been done “in a mechanical manner,” and it is “not based upon the convincing materials. “At the time of passing of the suspension order, the CAT order noted, there was no convincing material showing the “default or negligence” of the police officers concerned.

The KSCA submitted a letter which did not contain any request for permission to make the arrangements for the victory celebrations. The letter only gave information regarding the intention. “Therefore, it was not expected from the police that upon the basis of a letter submitted before the station in-charge of one police station, the police will make all of the arrangements all of a sudden,” the order said.

“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 bench said referring to the suspension of Dayananda and Shekar Tekkannavar.

The CM had at a press conference later rejected the allegations that Dayananda had been made a scapegoat.