In a recent development concerning the tragic stampede that occurred on January 29th during the Mauni Amavasya ritual bath at the Prayagraj Kumbh Mela, the Allahabad High Court has instructed the Uttar Pradesh government to expand the scope of the ongoing investigation. The court’s directive comes after a public interest litigation highlighted that the existing judicial inquiry was limited and did not cover all aspects, including the deaths and property damage that resulted from the incident.
Initially, the inquiry commission established by the government was tasked with investigating how the stampede happened and ensuring such incidents are prevented in the future. However, concerns were raised about the exclusion of important aspects like the extent of fatalities and damage.
The high court, responding to a petition filed by the former secretary of the Allahabad High Court Bar Association, Suresh Chandra Pandey, has now mandated that the judicial commission investigate all dimensions of the incident, including those initially omitted. The petition also called for the proper identification of victims, the disclosure of their names, and inquiries into cases where postmortems were not conducted.
Furthermore, issues concerning the issuance of death certificates have been highlighted, prompting calls for a thorough reevaluation of the commission’s responsibilities. The Division Bench, presided over by Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra, is closely monitoring the situation and has given the state government a four-day deadline to submit its response.
The Government has assured the court that the commission will now consider the financial and personal losses suffered by the attendees. This adjustment aims to address the critiques posed by opposition parties, which have been vocal about the discrepancies in the official fatality figures, reported to be 30 individuals. The expansion of the inquiry’s scope signifies a significant step towards addressing the grievances of the victims’ families and ensuring accountability for the tragic losses incurred during the event.
