The Allahabad High Court has directed the Uttar Pradesh Mela Authority and the Commission of Inquiry to finalise the compensation claim of a man whose wife died in the 2025 Kumbh Mela stampede within 30 days, refusing to allow any further delay in the matter.
A Division Bench comprising Justice Ajit Kumar and Justice Swarupama Chaturvedi was hearing a writ petition filed by Uday Pratap Singh, who lost his wife in the stampede that occurred in the early hours of January 29, 2025, resulting in at least 30 fatalities.
During the latest hearing on January 8, 2026, the court took note of the state government’s submission that the inquiry commission had already recorded the petitioner’s statement on December 17, 2025, and that his claim was under consideration. The state also contended that the commission’s timeline had been extended to accommodate late claims from other victims’ families and ensure wider public interest.
However, the bench was not convinced. It observed that a prior vacation bench order dated June 6, 2025, had already expressed strong displeasure over the delay in disbursing ex gratia compensation and had required personal affidavits from the concerned authorities. The court held that the petitioner’s claim could not be kept pending indefinitely and stated:
“Although this court on June 6, 2025 passed a detailed order requiring the authorities to file their personal affidavit, at this stage, we find it necessary to get the issue of claim of compensation of the petitioner finalised at the earliest.”
The court has now ordered the Mela Authority and the Commission of Inquiry to finalise Uday Pratap Singh’s compensation claim within the next 30 days. It also directed Additional Advocate General Anoop Trivedi, appearing for the state and the Mela Authority, to ensure that the final decision is submitted to the court by the next date of hearing.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on February 18, 2026, specifically for the filing of the compliance affidavit. The bench cautioned that failure to comply with the order would compel the court to “take a serious view of the matter.”
In a previous hearing, the High Court had also flagged serious procedural lapses in how the body of the petitioner’s wife was handled. The court noted that her body, which bore crush injuries to the rib cage, was handed over from the Motilal Nehru Medical College mortuary without any proper inquest or autopsy report, raising concerns about the official response in the aftermath of the tragedy.
The court’s order comes nearly a year after the deadly stampede and follows mounting criticism over the slow pace of compensation and accountability measures.
