The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) Head of Marketing, Nikhil Sosale, has been released on a temporary bail and has also been asked to surrender his passport. Sosale, along with two of his other associates from DNA Entertainment Network, named Kiran Kumar (Senior Event Manager) and Sunil Mathew (Vice President - Business Affairs), were arrested on June 6, at the Bangalore International Airport while trying to flee the city in the wake of the tragic stampede outside M Chinnaswamy Stadium. 

See also: RCB marketing head arrested, event organizers detained in deadly stampede case

Temporary respite for Sosale and his close aids

Sosale was taken into custody by the Central Crime Branch upon arrival at the airport during the early hours of Friday, June 6. On the same day, Sosale's attorney raised concerns regarding the legality of the arrest in the Karnataka High Court; however, the case was postponed until the beginning of the following week. The High Court listened to the arguments presented by both parties until Wednesday and delivered its ruling on Thursday afternoon, June 12.

The High Court granted interim bail to Sosale, Kiran, and Sunil on the condition that they surrender their passports. Justice SR Krishna Kumar directed the release of the three convicted men on June 12. Sandesh Chouta, a senior advocate representing Sosale, countered the allegations against him by saying that the police have no right to target employees, stating that there is no vicarious liability.  

Contrary to Chouta's claims, advocate general Shashi Kiran Shetty, appearing for the state, put the blame back on RCB, stating that proper permissions for the victory parade were not obtained. The announcement was previously made in a now-deleted tweet from the RCB. 

The serious matter has now gone to the High Court, where RCB, KSCA, and the State are all trading blame with one another. The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA), in its defence, said that they are only responsible for facilitating cricketing activities in the state of Karnataka and had no role to play in organizing the event. The governing body further added that the task force, responsible for maintaining security in the stadium premises, was not within their scope either.