Lawyer files plea in SC for probe into lapses that led to Hathras stampede

The petitioner sought directions from the court for guidelines for public safety at gatherings to prevent such incidents in the future and a status report from the Uttar Pradesh government

A lawyer on Wednesday filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court seeking the appointment of a former top court judge-led five-member expert committee to probe into the lapses which led to the stampede at a religious gathering in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras that left 116 people dead a day earlier.

Bodies outside a hospital in Hathras. (AP)

Vishal Tiwari, the petitioner, sought directions from the court for guidelines for public safety at gatherings to prevent such incidents in the future and a status report from the Uttar Pradesh government on the negligent conduct of those involved in the incident.

The petition, which has made all states and Union territories parties, asked them to issue guidelines for preventing stampedes or other such incidents for the safety at public and religious events. It sought directions to all states and territories to submit the status of medical facilities available from block, tehsil to district levels to deal with incidents such as the Hathras stampede.

The petition said the stampede highlighted the plight people face due to lapses, negligence, and failure of administration. “...nothing in the administration activity of our country has changed wherein such actions could have been avoided by showing reasonable duty of care and upfront repair and development activity.”