12 hours ago
After Bengaluru stampede, Karnataka cabinet to discuss new bills on crowd control, fake news
The Karnataka cabinet is expected to discuss key bills, including the one on crowd control and management with penal provisions upto three years imprisonment, in its next meeting. The Bill gains significance in the wake of the June 4 stampede in Bengaluru that killed 11 people Also, likely to be discussed are bills against misinformation or fake news, and hate speeches and crimes, state Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said on Thursday after the cabinet meeting.
"Four bills were proposed today -- Karnataka Crowd Control (Managing Crowd at Events and Venues of Mass Gathering) Bill, 2025; Karnataka Rohith Vemula Bill, 2025; Karnataka misinformation, fake news prohibition Bill, 2025; Karnataka hate speech and hate crimes prevention Bill, 2025," Patil told reporters.
He said, "These Bills were proposed at the meeting today. I mentioned that there is a need for a detailed discussion on some Bills. It has been decided that before the next cabinet meeting, concerned ministers will meet and discuss and bring the Bills before the cabinet." According to sources, the draft of Karnataka Crowd Control (Managing Crowd at Events and Venues of Mass Gathering) Bill states that whoever does not obey the orders of the Police, or violates its provisions or rules, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with a fine up to ₹5,000 or both.
Further, if the event planner does not apply before conducting the event or fails to control the crowd gathered and fails to give compensation or violates the provisions of the Bill or rules, he shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with a fine up to ₹5 lakhs or both. Noting that the event planner is responsible for paying the compensation to the person who is severely injured or to the family member of the deceased in stampede-like incidents, the draft Bill says, in case of the event planner not providing the compensation, the government may collect the amount as arrears of land revenue, and the event planner's property can be auctioned by the government.
It states that the provisions of the Bill shall not apply to Jatra, Rathotsava, Pallakki Utsava, Teppada Teru, urus, or any religious event pertaining to any religion, caste or creed. The stampede occurred on June 4 evening in front of the Chinnaswamy stadium here, where a large number of people thronged to participate in the RCB team's IPL victory celebrations. Eleven people died and 56 were injured in the incident.
The draft of the Rohith Vemula Bill, reportedly proposes compensation of up to ₹1 lakh for students who face caste-based discrimination in higher education institutions, and jail term of one year and a fine of ₹10,000 for guilty. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had written to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in April urging the Karnataka government to enact 'Rohith Vemula Act' to ensure that no one faces caste-based discrimination in the education system. Rohith Vemula, a Dalit student, allegedly died by suicide due to caste-based discrimination in Hyderabad, in 2016.
