Mahakumbh stampede: Allahabad HC directs relief within 30 days
Order makes reference to June 2025 hearing where court had pulled up the govt handling of the matter, saying “it appears to be a pretence and an excuse on part of the State to ask the aggrieved families… to beg for money.”
Pulling up the Uttar Pradesh government over the delay in payment of ex-gratia to a man who lost his wife in last year’s Mahakumbh stampede, the Allahabad High Court has directed it to finalise the compensation claim within 30 days, and submit a compliance report by the next hearing on February 18.
In a January 8 order, uploaded recently, the Division Bench of Justices Ajit Kumar and Swarupama Chaturvedi stated that the petitioner, Uday Pratap Singh, had already appeared before the District Magistrate to share the required documents regarding compensation for his wife, as well as recorded his statement before the commission probing the stampede.
“… we find it necessary to get the issue of claim of compensation of the petitioner finalized at the earliest. Accordingly, we direct the Commission as well as the Mela Authority to finalise the claim of compensation of the petitioner within the next 30 days from today,” the Bench said.
Uday Pratap, who belongs to Bihar’s Kaimur, lost his wife in the stampede that occurred on the Mauni Amavasya Snan day at the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj on January 29 last year. While she was initially believed to be missing, her body was later found by her son in a hospital mortuary, and handed over to the family on February 5.
In his petition, Uday Pratap said the authorities did not prepare the inquest and autopsy report when the body was handed over, and that this was done in Bihar, identifying the cause of death as fractures to the rib cage. He said because she had been “crushed” in the stampede, resulting in the injuries, he submitted his application for compensation to the Prayagraj Mela Authority.
At the first hearing held on the matter in the High Court on June 5 last year, the government counsel opposed Uday Pratap’s petition, disputing the facts.
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However, in a detailed order on June 6, the court observed that “it could not be stated that no occurrence had taken place on the night preceding the ‘Amrit Snan’ on 28/29.01.2025”.
The Division Bench of Justices Saumitra Dayal Singh and Sandeep Jain added that it was the duty of the State to protect lives and “offer remedies and care where… unintended loss may be suffered”, adding: “Once the identity of the families of the deceased was known to the State, it appears to be a pretence and an excuse on part of the State to ask the aggrieved families who had come from far off places to beg for money from the State for the irreversible loss suffered… certainly not on account of any fault committed by the deceased.”
Further, the court observed: “… we find the stand taken (by the government) to be untenable and smacking of apathy to the plight of the citizen”. While the stampede “may have been caused for reasons beyond the control of the State”, the court said, “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”.
The court also questioned the handing over of the body of Uday Pratap’s wife “without inquest and without prior autopsy report”, and asked why the hospital had not provided a record of how the body had come to be at its mortuary.
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In its January 8 order, the High Court made a reference to the observations made in the June hearing.
Bhupendra Pandey is the Resident Editor of the Lucknow edition of The Indian Express. With decades of experience in the heart of Uttar Pradesh’s journalistic landscape, he oversees the bureau’s coverage of India’s most politically significant state. His expertise lies in navigating the complex intersections of state governance, legislative policy, and grassroots social movements. From tracking high-stakes assembly elections to analyzing administrative shifts in the Hindi heartland, Bhupendra’s reportage provides a definitive lens on the region's evolution.
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