The High Court of Karnataka has dismissed a petition filed by DNA Entertainment Networks Private Limited as the State government has told the court that no action would be taken, based on the report of the Commission of Inquiry, without giving an opportunity of hearing to the DNA in the case of stampede that occurred outside the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4.
“Considering the specific stand of the State, the apprehension of the petitioner that without an opportunity of being heard, an action would be taken against it on the basis of the report [of the commission], does not survive. We find that no further orders are required,” said a Division Bench, comprising Justice D.K. Singh and Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju, in its order.
“The report [of the commission] dated July 10, 2025, cannot be set aside on mere apprehensions and assumptions,” the Bench said as it was pointed to the court that the report of the commission is not made public yet and the DNA has assumed, based on the newspaper reports, that there are adverse remarks against it in the report.
The petition was filed “as an afterthought attempt” to avoid any action on the basis of the recommendation made by the Commission of Inquiry, the Bench noted, as the State government had pointed out that DNA is challenging the report of the commission by assuming the contents of the report.
The Bench also noted that the government’s submission that the Commission of Inquiry was “only a fact finding body and the scope of inquiry of the commission was not against the conduct of any individual/entity and was only to comprehensively and objectively enquire into the incident as a whole, so as to ascertain the facts leading to such tragedy.”
As many as 11 persons died and more than 50 persons injured in the stamped outside the stadium when fans had gathered for the celebration of the victory of Royal Challengers Bengaluru team in the IPL-2025 cricket tournament.
While the State government had blamed the Karnataka State Cricket Association, the Royal Challengers Sports Private Limited (RCSPL), which owns RCB, and the DNA, the event manager of RCSPL, blamed the event organised by the State government on the steps of Vidhana Soudha to felicitate RCB team as a catalyst for gathering of the huge crowd that led to the stampede outside the stadium. Several litigations are pending adjudication before various courts in connection with the criminal cases registered in connection with the stampede incident.
Published – November 24, 2025 09:47 pm IST
