New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday refused to direct the Union and state governments to enact laws for effective crowd and disaster management at religious places to avoid loss of human lives in stampedes during festivals. "No PIL can be entertained on the issue," said a bench of Justice H L Dattu and Justice Chandramauli Kumar Prasad.
The bench, however, granted liberty to petitioner Vineet Dhanda, a lawyer, to move high courts concerned under whose jurisdictions such tragic incidents have taken place either in temples or at other public places. "Go to the appropriate high courts where such temples are situated for appropriate remedies," Justice Dattu said.
Citing various tragic incidents at places of worships which had claimed hundred of lives earlier, Dhanda earlier had sought a direction to the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Archaeological Department and the state governments to frame "laws, regulations and guidelines" for crowd control and disaster management at such places.
The plea had also sought a direction to provide "adequate security and disaster management facilities" at places of worships across the country. The petition annexed several media reports to highlight the loss of human lives in stampedes at religious places.
"In October 2008, 224 people were killed and about 100 others were injured in a stampede at Chamunda Devi temple at Jodhpur in Rajasthan. The loss of human lives is taking place time and again in the country and the authorities are not taking any steps to provide security arrangements at such places," the petition said. It also referred to the killings of innocent citizens at hotels in Mumbai in 2008 due to lack of proper security measures.
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