Maha Kumbh Stampede: SC Declines to Entertain PIL Seeking Action Against Officials

NEW DELHI:
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking legal action against authorities and officials in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj for their “negligent conduct” resulting in a tragic stampede at the Maha Kumbh, in which at least 30 people were killed and around 60 others were injured.

A bench of CJI Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar suggested the PIL litigant, advocate Vishal Tiwari, who appeared as a party in-person, to approach the Allahabad High Court for redressal of the grievances raised in the petition.

The CJI Khanna-led Bench took note of the submission by senior advocate Mukul Rohtagi, representing the Uttar Pradesh government, that a judicial inquiry has already been set up by the state government to probe the cause of the stampede and a similar petition has also been filed before the Allahabad High Court.

“It is something of concern and it is an unfortunate incident. But move the (Allahabad) High Court,” the apex court told the PIL litigant.

The petition filed before the apex court said the incidents of stampede have become regular and the incident in Prayagraj depicts the drastic condition and fate of people due to the lapses, negligence and utter failure of administration purported by the government authorities.

Apart from the “failure of maintaining and administering the supervision”, the plea alleged that the authorities had also failed in controlling the crowd gathered for the event.

“From the 1954 Kumbh Mela stampede accident to the Maha Kumbh 2025 stampede in Uttar Pradesh which took around 30 lives and left several injured, it is clear and visible to mention that nothing in the administration activity of our country has changed wherein such actions could have been avoided by showing reasonable duty of care and upfront repair and development activity,” stated the petition.

Quite often there are reports of casualties occurring due to overcrowding and lack of management by the administration and its municipal bodies, it highlighted, adding that every time such incidents take place, it underscores that “we have not learnt anything from the past”.

As per the petition, the event of Kumbh is one of the biggest and leading religious events of the nation, and hence, it becomes the collective responsibility of all states to ensure the safety and secure visit of its respective residents.

“All states shall have to come forward for proper facilitation, security, medical facility, transportation and other facilities for their respective residents who are going to Maha Kumbh. Whenever such incidents happen, mostly the common and poor people become victims,” the petition said.

“There are several questions which are brewing up from this horrific incident of stampede thereby questioning the duty and lapse of state government and Municipal Corporations,” it added.

Similar incidents of stampede had also taken place earlier in religious festivals, ceremonies and events, the petition said. It prayed that the Uttar Pradesh government be directed to file a status report on the Maha Kumbh 2025 stampede incident and initiate legal action against the authorities and officials for their negligent conduct.

On Monday, Parliament’s Budget session resumed with an uproar as the Opposition demanded accountability from the Uttar Pradesh government and accused the state government of concealing the actual number of deaths. They have also demanded a comprehensive list of those who died in the tragedy, slamming Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for initially refusing to confirm fatalities for several hours after the incident.

Some Opposition MPs even called for the Chief Minister’s resignation. Amid the commotion, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla urged members to maintain order, blaming the Opposition for disrupting proceedings.