Judicial commission to investigate Maha Kumbh accidents, High Court orders

New Delhi: On the assurance of the government, Allahabad High Court disposed of the PIL demanding a high level investigation to trace the deaths and missing people in all the three accidents that took place on Amavasya day in Maha Kumbh area. The government told the court that the scope of investigation of the judicial commission has been increased. Now it will also find out the loss of life and property in all the three stampedes.

This order has been given by the court of Chief Justice Arun Bhasali and Justice Shailendra Kshitij on the PIL filed by Suresh Chandra Pandey, former General Secretary of High Court Bar Association. In the last hearing, the petitioner’s advocate Saurabh Pandey had submitted a pen drive of video footage as proof of media reports and stampede at three places on Amavasya. It was claimed that the accident took place at three places on Amavasya day, not one.

Aadhar card of the missing people was being sought from the relatives of the missing people from the Lost and Found Center. If they were not available, their names were not being announced. Apart from this, citing media reports, it was also claimed that the government is misrepresenting the number of deaths in the accident. There were more than a hundred deaths while the government had accepted only 30 deaths. The role of the government and the administration is suspicious. Therefore, a high-level investigation of the deaths and missing people under the supervision of the High Court is necessary in public interest.

Additional Advocate General Manish Goyal, appearing on behalf of the government, had described the demand for a high-level investigation in the PIL as unnecessary. He said that the government has already constituted a judicial commission for investigation. This judicial commission will submit a report on the cause of the accident and future prevention measures in a month. However, the court was dissatisfied with the argument given by the government. Citing the limited scope of the commission’s investigation, the court had summoned a report from the government as to how the government would trace the deaths and missing people in the accidents?

On Monday, the government came on the back foot. The court was told that the government has expanded the scope of the judicial commission’s investigation. Till now the judicial commission was working to find out the reasons for the stampede in Sangam area and to suggest measures to prevent such incidents in future. Now the judicial commission will investigate all the accidents that happened in the fair area. It will also investigate the loss of life and property during this. The court disposed of the PIL on the assurance of the government.