On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court asked the Indian Railways not to take it for granted, showing displeasure over the national transporter's failure to file an affidavit in a matter related to last year's stampede at the New Delhi railway station, when passengers were waiting to board trains for Prayagraj, where the Maha Kumbh was underway.
A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia questioned why the authorities were so slack and if they were waiting for another incident to happen, as the affidavit was not in sight, even though it had to be filed by March 26, 2025.
'Do not take the court for granted'
According to NDTV, the bench mentioned, "Do not take the court for granted. We required you to file an affidavit. What did you do? Just to sail through the pressure at that moment when this petition was filed, a statement by the highest law officer of the country was made on behalf of the railways. It has been a year now, and you have not been able to file that affidavit. What does this indicate? We do not appreciate this."
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The Public Interest Litigation (PIL)
The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) matter filed by the social organisation "Arth Vidhi". The plea has claimed that the tragic incident on the night of February 15, 2025, claimed 18 lives and left 15 injured at the New Delhi railway station. It has revealed gross mismanagement and the failure of the administration.
Previous directions on crowd control
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had suggested a direction, following which the court asked the railways to examine several issues, including the fixing of a maximum number of passengers, overcrowding and the sale of platform tickets at stations, and file an affidavit indicating its decision on February 19th.
Railways seek more time for compliance
On Wednesday, the counsel for the railway authorities appealed for more time from the bench to file the affidavit. He assured the court that comprehensive steps like the creation of holding areas have been taken and that a comprehensive affidavit would be filed.
"We are waiting for the successful implementation of (its measures during) the Magh Mela. My affidavit is ready. We want to file a lot of things. We will file it in four weeks," the counsel said.
Next hearing
The court granted four weeks to the railways and asked it to file details of the up-to-date steps taken by it on the issue of overcrowding and crowd control. "Somebody should take these matters more seriously. Do not take the court for granted like this," it remarked.
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The bench also recorded that previously the solicitor general had assured it that the present matter was not hostile and listed it for further hearing on February 25. At least 18 people were killed in the overnight stampede at the packed New Delhi railway station, which witnessed an increase of passengers waiting to board trains for Prayagraj, where the Maha Kumbh was underway on platforms 14 and 15.
