HC slams Railways over Delhi stampede, asks why were tickets sold beyond limit?

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court sharply criticised Indian Railways on Wednesday regarding the recent New Delhi railway station stampede that claimed 18 lives, specifically questioning the practice of selling tickets beyond coach capacity.

During a hearing on a petition seeking enhanced railway station safety measures, the division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela raised serious concerns about passenger management practices.

“If you fix the number of passengers to be accommodated in a coach, then why do you sell? Why does the number of tickets sold exceed that number? That is a problem,” the court stated.

Justice Gedela acknowledged the infrastructural challenges, noting, “Are you aware of how many lakhs of people were at the station that day? Infrastructurally, it may not be possible to control that kind of crowd.”

The court ordered Railways to review its policies regarding maximum passenger limits and platform ticket sales, citing Section 57 of the Railways Act. Chief Justice Upadhyay emphasised that proper implementation of existing rules could prevent such tragedies: “If you implement a simple thing in a positive manner in letter and spirit, such a situation can be avoided.”

The petitioner highlighted ongoing compliance issues, stating, “If we go to the station right now, we will see a lot of crowds without platform tickets and train tickets. We don’t see any compliance with the Railways Circular requiring platform tickets.”

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Railways, assured the court that the matter would receive serious attention. “The matter was not taken in an adversarial manner, and the Railways was bound to follow the law,” Mehta said, describing the incident as an “unprecedented” situation.

The tragedy occurred on February 15, when 18 people lost their lives and more than a dozen were injured in a stampede at the New Delhi railway station. The victims were primarily Maha Kumbh pilgrims attempting to board trains headed to Prayagraj. Railway officials reported that the incident began when several passengers slipped while descending from a foot overbridge, creating a deadly chain reaction.

The court has directed the Railway Board to examine the issues raised in the petition at the highest level and submit an affidavit detailing their decisions. The next hearing is scheduled for March 26.