The Karnataka government on Thursday strongly defended its decision to suspend senior IPS officer Vikash Kumar Vikash before the High Court, alleging that he and his colleagues acted as though they were “servants of RCB” during the chaotic preparations for the Indian Premier League (IPL) victory celebrations of Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The celebrations, held without proper authorisation, led to a tragic stampede that claimed 11 lives and injured 33 others.
Appearing for the state, Senior Counsel P S Rajagopal argued that the police officials, instead of seeking mandatory permissions, began making security arrangements for the event even before the final IPL match was played, solely based on a proposal submitted by RCB.
“The most obvious response from the IPS officer should have been: ‘You haven’t taken permission,’” Rajagopal told the Division Bench of Justices S G Pundit and T M Nadaf. “RCB would then have had to approach the High Court, and the law would have taken its own course.”
He criticised the officers for failing to act responsibly, calling their conduct a serious dereliction of duty. He questioned the feasibility of arranging crowd control for lakhs of people in under 12 hours, especially when no senior-level consultation or strategic planning had taken place. He invoked Section 35 of the Karnataka State Police Act to argue that the officers had sufficient legal authority but failed to exercise it.
Rajagopal also questioned the Central Administrative Tribunal’s (CAT) July 1 order that quashed the suspension and ordered the officer’s reinstatement with full pay. He found fault with the Tribunal’s sympathetic remarks, particularly its observation that “police personnel are also human beings, not God or magicians,” which he dismissed as “storytelling more suited for grandparents than judicial forums.”
The High Court is currently hearing the state’s appeal against the CAT order. The Tribunal had found no compelling evidence of negligence by Vikash and noted that the police had little time to respond after RCB’s social media announcement of the celebratory event. It stated that controlling an estimated crowd of 3–5 lakh people would have required far more preparation than was available.
Following the CAT order, Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty had informed the High Court on July 2 that Vikash Kumar Vikash had resumed duties. The Court declined to stay the Tribunal’s ruling and scheduled a detailed hearing.
On July 3, the Bench had orally remarked that a departmental shift might have been more appropriate than a suspension. However, the AG defended the suspension as being well-supported by records and sought an interim stay.
Vikash Kumar Vikash is the only one among five suspended officers to challenge the disciplinary action before the Tribunal. Others suspended include Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda, DCP Shekar H Tekkannavar, ACP C Balakrishna, and Inspector A K Girish.
The High Court is expected to deliver a detailed order after further hearings.
