Court weighs role of RCB tweets in deadly stampede at Chinnaswamy Stadium
The Karnataka High Court said it is too early to hold Royal Challengers Bengaluru solely responsible for the Chinnaswamy Stadium stampede linked to their social media posts.
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The Karnataka High Court on Monday said it was too soon to determine whether social media posts by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru cricket team were the direct cause of a deadly stampede that killed 11 people and injured dozens more outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The remarks came during a hearing on petitions filed by RCB and its event management partner, DNA Entertainment, seeking protection from arrest and the quashing of criminal charges related to the June 4 incident. As per reports, nearly 500,000 people reportedly gathered at the stadium’s gates after the team posted messages on X, formerly Twitter, inviting fans to attend a victory celebration. The stadium’s official capacity is approximately 33,000.
Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar, who is presiding over the matter, pushed back on arguments from Karnataka’s Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty, who said RCB had acted recklessly by publicizing the event without coordinating with state authorities.
But the court signaled caution in assigning blame.
It is premature to say that the entire sequence of events was triggered solely by RCB’s tweets or otherwise, Justice Kumar said, as per a report on Bar And Bench. He added, “Today, we are not in a position to identify or to say that they are more responsible because of the tweet, or the government is. They are only asking for protection.”
The judge noted that interim protection from arrest had already been granted to officials of the Karnataka State Cricket Association, which has also been named in the case. He questioned why similar relief should not be extended to RCB and DNA.
The state has been instructed not to arrest any individuals not yet taken into custody while the matter is under judicial consideration. A further hearing has been scheduled for June 12.
The incident has raised broader questions around crowd management, social media influence and corporate responsibility in India’s lucrative and widely followed cricket industry.
