Stampede at railway station in Delhi
Credit: PTI File Photo
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday declined to consider a PIL for directions to the Union government and all the States to coordinate and work collectively by forming an expert committee to frame guidelines and measures to prevent incidents of stampedes like the one that happened recently at New Delhi Railway Station.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and Prashant Kumar Mishra asked petitioner Vishal Tiwari to approach the Delhi High Court with the grievance, which has already been considering a similar matter.
In his plea, Tiwari sought directions to the authorities on crowd management, claiming that over 200 people had died in a recent stampede at the New Delhi railway station.
The bench asked the petitioner if there was any proof that 200 people have died.
The counsel said that several videos of the stampede at the railway station were uploaded on X and the Railways has issued notices to the witnesses who were present at the spot.
The court said, "those persons can approach the court."
Tiwari sought a direction to the Union government and States for the implementation and consideration of the report made by the National Disaster Management Authority in 2014 titled as "managing crowd at events and venues of mass gathering".
He urged the court should direct the Indian Railways to take measures for the safety of passengers at railway stations and platforms by widening corridors, constructing broader overbridges and platforms.
The Railways should also ensure easy access to platforms through ramps and escalators, during peak hours, any changes to arrival or departure platforms should be strictly avoided, his plea said.
"Utilizing barriers, ropes, and crowd control gates to manage passenger flow is essential and not to distribute tickets at a time above the number of passengers who may gather and accommodate on a railway station as per to the space available," his plea said.
Tiwari also sought that a direction be made to Union government and Railways to submit a status report on the incident of stampede happened on February 15, at New Delhi Railway Station.