The Supreme Court is set to hear a public interest litigation (PIL) on July 12, calling for the appointment of an expert committee supervised by a retired apex court judge to investigate the Hathras stampede incident, which claimed 121 lives on July 2.
Advocate Vishal Tiwari brought the matter before Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud, who confirmed that the CJI had already ordered the case to be listed. The petition seeks the appointment of a five-member expert committee, supervised by a retired Supreme Court judge, to investigate the stampede incident.
The petition requests the court to instruct the Uttar Pradesh government to provide a status report and take legal action against those responsible for negligence in safety and crowd control measures. It also calls for states to issue guidelines to prevent stampedes and ensure public safety during large gatherings, and to submit reports on the medical facilities available to handle such incidents.
The petition cites past incidents that have claimed numerous lives, including the 1954 Kumbh Mela stampede, which resulted in 800 deaths; the 2007 Mecca Masjid stampede with 16 reported deaths; the 2022 Mata Vaishno Devi shrine stampede; the 2014 Dussehra celebrations stampede at Gandhi Maidan in Patna; and the deaths of approximately 104 Sabarimala devotees at Pulmedu in Idukki.
