HC to examine govt’s SOPs framed after RCB stampede

The Karnataka high court has said it wants to examine the government's standard operating procedures (SOPs) for crowd control during large public events, in wake of the June 4 stampede outside the M Chinnaswamy Stadium during the celebrations of Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) IPL victory.

- Ayesha Arvind

A bench of chief justice Vibhu Bakhru and justice CM Joshi asked advocate general Shashikiran Shetty whether such SOPs were in place and cited the stampede last week at the Mansadevi temple in Haridwar to underscore the importance of protocol in handling mass gatherings.

Shetty, informing the bench that the state did have an existing SOP in place and that it had been updated and released by the government on July 1, sought time to place the same on record. The court accepted the request.

The new SOPs, framed and made public by the government after the June 4 tragedy, emphasise “early planning, interdepartmental coordination, behavioural risk assessment, and prioritisation of life safety, and deescalation” during crowded events, among other things.