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Months after the Bengaluru stampede incident left 11 innocent lives dead, the recent verdict in the ongoing judicial case has termed the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium “unsafe.” It is to be noted that earlier in June 2025, soon after Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) title win, the Bengaluru-based franchise organised a victory parade, followed by celebrations at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The celebrations turned into tragedy, leaving 11 dead and several injured as a mass audience gathered to participate in the celebrations. While there were serious allegations made around the franchise, the Karnataka government and the authorities concerned in the matter, by a recent report from the judicial commission has termed the stadium “unsafe” for mass gathering.
Women's ODI World Cup 2025 in jeopardy after host Chinnaswamy Stadium declared “unsafe”
The Justice John Michael D’Cunha Commission constituted to investigate the June 4 stampede, has come to the conclusion that the stadium’s “design and structure” are inherently “unsuitable and unsafe” for events for large gathering. "The design and structure of the stadium was unsuitable and unsafe for mass gathering," the Commission stated in its report before the Karnataka cabinet, as quoted by news agency PTI.
The report also urged that the high-attendance events should be hosted at venues that are designed for crowd safety and also recommended that any future stadium used for such events should meet the international safety standards. The Commission, as mentioned by ESPNcricinfo, also identified several shortcomings in the stadium infrastructure, which lacks proper queuing and waiting area separated from public roads, along with questioning the improper connection with public transport.
This verdict from the Committee comes at a stage where the M. Chinnaswamy is set to host the Women’s World Cup, including the opening match, and a semi-final in September-November this year. However, it has to be seen if the matches will be held as per the schedule on the venue or will the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) request ICC to change the venue for Bengaluru matches.
