In a significant move towards transparency, the Karnataka High Court has directed the state government to share the sealed cover status report on the June 4 stampede at Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium with the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), and DNA Entertainment Networks.
A division bench of Acting Chief Justice V Kameswar Rao and Justice C M Joshi rejected the state’s justification for withholding the report, ruling that sealed cover confidentiality—permitted by the Supreme Court only in cases involving national security, privacy, or larger public interest—was not applicable in the present matter.
The bench was hearing a suo motu public interest litigation initiated after the stampede, which occurred outside the stadium while RCB was celebrating its first-ever IPL title win inside. The tragic incident had sparked public outrage and prompted judicial and magisterial inquiries.
The state government had argued that revealing the report could interfere with these ongoing inquiries. However, the court found the concern to be baseless, stressing that retired judges and senior All-India Service officers leading the probes were unlikely to be influenced by the report’s contents.
Highlighting the need for accountability and preventive steps, the court noted that withholding the report from key stakeholders while expecting their cooperation was “unfair.” The judges added, “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 ruling is expected to bring greater clarity to the circumstances surrounding the stampede and help identify lapses, if any, in crowd management and event coordination. The court has reaffirmed its commitment to uncovering the truth and ensuring that such incidents do not recur.
