The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday heard the plea of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s (RCB) Marketing Head, Nikhil Sosale, challenging his arrest by the Central Crime Branch (CCB) in connection with the tragic stampede that took place near Bengaluru’s Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4, ahead of the IPL team’s victory celebration event.

Sosale, who was arrested in the early hours of June 6, has claimed that the arrest was illegal, arbitrary, and unsupported by any material evidence. Appearing before Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar, Senior Advocate Sandesh Chouta, representing Sosale, contended that the First Information Report (FIR) filed in the matter did not name his client and made no reference to any direct role played by him in organising the event where the incident occurred.

The petition argued that there was no justification for Sosale’s arrest, especially in the absence of any documentary material indicating his involvement. Chouta pointed out that Sosale was merely the marketing head of RCB and was not associated with the logistical aspects of the event.

Emphasising on procedural safeguards, Chouta invoked Section 55 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), which mandates a written order when an officer delegates the power of arrest to a subordinate. “Even if you are giving the power to anyone, it has to be done in writing, milord. Nothing is done in this case,” he submitted.

The Court also questioned whether the CCB, despite being a superior body, had the legal authority to effect Sosale’s arrest. Justice Krishna Kumar orally observed that without clear delegation under Section 55 CrPC, the CCB’s action could be questionable.

To this, Chouta affirmed that there was no such authorisation and that the CCB had no jurisdiction to arrest in this case, particularly since the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had been tasked with investigating the incident.

Referring to the sequence of arrests made by the police, Chouta noted that Sosale was picked up from the airport while another accused was arrested from his residence in RT Nagar. Yet, no material was shown linking either of them to the crowd mismanagement or any offence punishable with over seven years, which could otherwise justify arrest.

“Four persons were arrested without even ascertaining their roles. The political advisor is removed, the police officers are suspended, but they are not arrested. Why single me out?” Chouta asked.

The Court further enquired about the alleged tweet inviting RCB fans for the celebration. Chouta responded that it was not made by Sosale, but by the official RCB handle in coordination with government authorities. He noted that police had also circulated WhatsApp messages raising security concerns about the event, which were seemingly ignored.

At one point, the Court remarked, “So the remand says they are connected with RCB and DNA (the event management firm), so they were arrested?” Chouta confirmed this, adding that no specific role had been assigned to Sosale in any of the prosecution's documents.

The Advocate General of Karnataka, Shashi Kiran Shetty, also appeared and sought time till Wednesday morning to respond. He informed the Court that his office was compiling all necessary records and would present them in detail.

“My office is working till 5 a.m., milord,” he said, requesting that Sosale’s release not be considered until the State had made its submissions.

The Court granted the request and asked Chouta to file a written note of arguments, which must be shared with both the Advocate General and the Court.

The matter will now be heard on Wednesday, with the Court set to examine the legality of the arrest, the procedural compliance by the police, and the justification for including Sosale in the case, despite the FIR only naming corporate entities and not individual officials.

Case Title: Nikhil Sosale v. State of Karnataka