18 hours ago
Maha Kumbh stampede: HC asks UP govt to consider compensation claim of victim's family
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Prayagraj: The Allahabad high court has asked the state govt to consider a compensation claim made by a petitioner who claimed that his wife died during the Maha Kumbh stampede on Mauni Amavasya, early Jan 29 morning.
Hearing a writ petition filed by one Uday Prtap Singh, a division bench comprising Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Sandeep Jain said on Friday: "Prima facie, we find the stand taken (by the state govt) to be untenable and smacking of apathy to the plight of the citizen, inasmuch as the occurrence may have been caused for reasons beyond the control of the state, at the same time having realised the consequence of that occurrence and having announced a scheme for payment of ex gratia compensation, it was the bounden duty of the state to pay up the compensation to the aggrieved families with utmost grace and dignity.
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The court was 'alarmed at the fact' that the body was handed over in February but no compensation had been paid to the family of the bench directed the case to be put up as fresh on July 18, 2025.
The petitioner had sought compensation, saying that he was the husband of the deceased, who had succumbed to the injuries during the stampede. The court directed the state authorities to consider the claim of the petitioner on its own merit on the strength of the petition and a copy of the petition be treated as a copy of representation.
The court expressed concerns over a dead body of a stampede victim in Kumbh Mela being handed over to the family without any autopsy or post mortem by the state run Motilal Nehru Medical College, Prayagraj.
"If a person was admitted to any hospital, documentation offered by the government agencies should reflect the same and should have been communicated to the petitioner. If any patient was brought dead to a hospital, that statement should have also been recorded and made known to the concerned," the court said.
"In any case, it should have been made known to the petitioner, from which hospital and in what circumstance, the dead body of his wife came to be deposited in the mortuary from where it was handed over to the petitioner's son. If that body had been found lying unclaimed at any place, appropriate police action ought to have been taken or followed that discovery of the dead body. No fact disclosure in that regard, exists," it added.
Observing that the citizens were not at fault, the court said that the state was duty bound to offer remedies and care, where such unintended loss was suffered by the citizens.
The court also sought detailed affidavits disclosing all deaths and medical handling of victims between January 28, 2025, and the end of the mela (Feb 26). The court also ordered disclosure of the number of claims received, settled, and pending, highlighting the state's responsibility as trustee of its citizens.
The court directed impleadment of multiple medical institutions and authorities in Prayagraj as parties to the petition and directed them to file affidavits disclosing all deaths and medical handling of victims between January 28, 2025 and the end of the Mela.
The affidavits must disclose full facts (date-wise) of all patients and dead bodies that may have been brought to those facilities and establishments under their control and of dead bodies dispatched by them, beginning January 28, 2025 to the end of the Kumbh Mela, the court directed.
The court has further directed them to furnish details regarding any person who would have been declared dead or brought dead to any medical facility including the details of the doctors who would have treated them.
Lastly, the court directed the state government to furnish details regarding compensation claims received and disbursed along with the details of pending claims.
