'Servants of RCB': Karnataka Government Justifies IPS Officer's Suspension

The Karnataka government justified the suspension of IPS officer Vikash Kumar before the High Court on Thursday, stating that he and his colleagues behaved as if they were “servants of RCB” during the preparations for the IPL victory celebration. This conduct, the government argued, led to public embarrassment and a stampede that resulted in 11 deaths and left 33 others injured.

Senior Counsel P S Rajagopal, representing the state, told the court that even before the final IPL match was played, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) had submitted a proposal to police officials regarding their victory celebrations.

However, instead of obtaining the required authorisation for such a large public gathering, the officers went ahead with making security arrangements, without consulting their superiors or securing the necessary permissions.

“The most obvious response from the IPS officer should have been: You haven't taken permission,” Rajagopal said.

He asserted that this failure to act responsibly led to operational lapses and a serious dereliction of duty.“Then, RCB would have had to approach the High Court, and the law would have taken its own course.” 

Arguing that organising security for a massive crowd within just 12 hours was impractical, Senior Counsel P S Rajagopal questioned what proactive measures the suspended officer had taken during that critical period.

He cited Section 35 of the Karnataka State Police Act, which empowers the police to act decisively in such situations, and criticised the officers for failing to exercise that authority. Rajagopal further noted that no senior-level consultations were held, and the officers were only placed under interim suspension to prevent further administrative or operational lapses.

When the Bench, comprising Justices S.G. Pundit and T.M. When asked about who was responsible for stadium security, Rajagopal responded that it was the state police personnel—admitting that the security arrangements were clearly inadequate.

He also challenged the Central Administrative Tribunal’s (CAT) decision to quash the suspension, especially objecting to the tribunal’s remarks that appeared overly sympathetic to the limitations faced by the police.

Reading from the CAT's order, Rajagopal criticised the Tribunal's observation that "police personnel are also human beings, not God or magicians," calling it an inappropriate narrative more suited for storytelling by grandparents.

"This is not what litigants expect from a judicial forum," he remarked.

Background of the case 

The state's submissions came during its challenge to the CAT's July 1 order that had quashed the suspension of Vikash Kumar Vikash and directed his immediate reinstatement with full pay and allowances.

The Tribunal had concluded that there was no compelling evidence of negligence and noted that the police had minimal time to respond to RCB’s sudden announcement of the celebration on social media.

It observed that managing a crowd estimated between three to five lakh people required far more time and preparation than what was available to the officers.

Despite recognising that RCB's actions triggered the crowd build-up, the Tribunal held that the police could not be expected to perform miracles.

Following this, on July 2, Advocate General Shashi Kiran Shetty informed the High Court that Vikash had resumed duties in uniform.

The Court, however, refused to stay the CAT order and listed the matter for a detailed hearing the following day.

On July 3, a division bench orally questioned whether suspension was necessary and suggested that a departmental shift might have sufficed. The AG insisted the suspension was well-supported by records and sought a stay of the CAT ruling.

Senior Counsel Dhyan Chinnappa, representing Vikash, assured the court that no contempt proceedings would be initiated. The Bench, in turn, advised against precipitative action until the matter is conclusively resolved.

Notably, Vikash is the only one among five suspended officers to challenge the decision before the Tribunal. The others include Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda, DCP Shekar H Tekkannavar, ACP C Balakrishna, and Inspector A K Girish. 

Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium Stampede

On June 4, a stampede occurred outside Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium, where thousands had gathered to celebrate RCB’s maiden IPL victory. The incident led to the suspension of ACP Vikash Kumar other officers over alleged lapses in crowd control and failure to manage permissions. However, the Central Administrative Tribunal later revoked Vikash’s suspension, prompting the state government to challenge the decision in the High Court.

With inputs from PTI.