NEW DELHI: The SC on Friday refused to entertain a PIL filed by lawyer Vishal Tiwari seeking directives for the Union and State governments to form an expert committee to prevent stampedes. The two-judge bench, led by Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, advised Tiwari to approach the Delhi High Court instead.
Tiwari’s PIL urged authorities to improve crowd management, citing over 200 deaths in a recent stampede at New Delhi railway station. However, the Court questioned the claim, asking for proof. Tiwari’s counsel responded that videos on X showed the stampede and that Railways had issued notices to witnesses, but the Court maintained that affected individuals could seek legal recourse themselves.
Tiwari sought the implementation of the 2014 National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) report, Managing Crowd at Events and Venues of Mass Gathering. He also requested that Indian Railways take safety measures, such as widening corridors, constructing broader overbridges and platforms, and ensuring easy access to platforms through ramps and escalators. He suggested restricting ticket sales to match platform capacity and avoiding last-minute changes in train schedules to prevent overcrowding.
Additionally, Tiwari demanded a status report from the Railways and the Union government on the February 15 stampede at New Delhi railway station. He accused the government of withholding casualty data to cover up negligence and called for helpline counters for missing persons. Tiwari criticised authorities for prioritising VIP safety while leaving common citizens vulnerable. He emphasised that with modern technology, intelligence, and resources, stampedes should no longer occur.
Plea to take preventive actions for public safety
Tiwari criticised authorities for prioritising VIP safety while leaving common citizens vulnerable. He said that with modern technology, intelligence, and resources, stampedes should no longer occur. Calling them failures of governance, he urged strict accountability and preventive action.