LUCKNOW: The Allahabad High Court, on Monday, dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a CBI probe into various irregularities during the recently-concluded Mahakumbh.
The division bench, comprising Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra dismissed the petition filed by Keshar Singh, Yogendra kumar Pandey and Kamlesh Singh saying: "Seeking an inquiry, at this stage, when the event is already over, appears to be an exercise in futility".
The petitioners through their petition charged the administration with failing to discharge its duties, and poor quality and quantity of water across the Mela area during Mahakumbh- 2025.
Advocate Vijay Chandra Srivastava, appearing for petitioners, argued that pontoon bridges were not of good quality, the crowd management was poor and it resulted in difficulty for devotees in taking the holy dip.
The petitioners had sought a report on the budget meant for the event, the amount spent and the revenue generated. The petitioners also sought directions from the competent authorities for providing appropriate financial assistance to the families of those who lost their lives during the stampede in Mahakumbh.
Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal, appearing for state government, submitted that the petition was not maintainable, as it was based solely on newspapers' reports.
Cuttings of various newspaper reports during the course of the event were produced for making allegations without conducting any research and/or making any effort to find out the factual position in this regard, he added.
The court, after hearing all parties concerned observed: “It has been repeatedly laid down by the Supreme Court that a public interest litigation (PIL) petition cannot be based on newspaper reports or the reports in the magazines as the facts contained in the newspaper reports are only hearsay.”
The court, while dismissing the petition, observed: “The prayer seeking holding of an inquiry, at this stage, when the event is already over, appears to be an exercise in futility in as much as in case the petitioners, were really concerned about the difficulties being faced by the devotees during 45- day-long event, they should have approached the authorities and/or should have taken recourse to other remedies for obviating their grievances, which has apparently not been done."