HC Rejects Plea on New Delhi Railway Station Stampede Incident

New Delhi Railway Station Stampede Incident: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to entertain an intervention application filed by individuals who were unable to board their trains and sought ticket refunds on the day of the stampede at the New Delhi railway station on Febraury 15.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela granted the impleaders liberty to pursue appropriate legal remedies. The Court observed that intervention in the PIL was not permissible and advised them to file separate petitions for their individual grievances.

The application was filed by individuals who were scheduled to board the train on the day of the incident but were unable to do so. They sought intervention after not receiving a reimbursement for their tickets.

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The court, however, said, "That is a personal cause of action. Take recourse to remedies under the law. Why should we permit you to intervene in this matter? It is a public interest litigation (PIL). You are people who say they could not board the train and are entitled to compensation. That gives rise to a personal course of action."

The court observed the scope of the PIL was on the implementation of certain legal provisions on crowd and passenger management, and it had "nothing to do with the incident" as such.

"It will open a floodgate. We will not be doing justice to the case. We see what you are saying. It will give rise to personal tort, not a PIL. We will not allow you to implead here," the bench said.

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The court permitted the applicants to withdraw their plea while granting them the liberty to take appropriate legal action.

The February 15 stampede claimed 18 lives and left 15 injured at the overcrowded New Delhi Railway Station, where thousands of passengers were waiting to board trains for Prayagraj, where the Maha Kumbh is underway.

Petitioner Arth Vidhi stated in its PIL that the tragic incident revealed “gross mismanagement” and administrative failure. On February 19, the court directed the Railways to examine the fixing of maximum passenger capacity and the sale of platform tickets—issues raised in the PIL—and sought an affidavit detailing the decisions taken on these matters.

The case will continue as the court reviews railway management policies to prevent such tragedies in the future.

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