Introduction
Historically, stampedes have been a significant issue in India, mainly because of the huge crowd gatherings in religious, political, and cultural activities. Once again, some similar incidents, such as the RCB celebration[1]Jalgaon railway station[2]and the Prayagraj Kumbh Mela[3]The stampede exposed the fragility of crowd control mechanisms in high-density settings. While such occurrences are dismissed as unfortunate crowd behaviour, they are in fact systemic failures, preventable yet persistently repeated.
During the stampede, a question arises as it’s probable connection with the Mob lynching. There is a high chance that someone may spread the wrong news to take advantage of the disturbance caused by the stampede. Although there is no legal definition of a stampede provided under the Indian legal framework, it is defined by the UNDRR[4] (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction) as “disruption of the orderly movement of crowds…leading to injuries and fatalities”.
The author in the blog first examines the it explores the reason behind repetitive occurrences of similar incidents and why the government is not able to stop such incidents from happening. Next, legal provisions, both direct and indirect, exist in India and around the world. Finally, suggests a preventive framework and a blend of crowd management systems that can be adopted to help mitigate these incidents.
Causes and Catalysts
There arenumerous reasons due to which stampedes happen, foremost among them is overcrowding or the arrival of a larger crowd than expected, which usually occurs in religious settings, like the recent Mahakumbh stampede that happened on the auspicious occasion of Mauni Amavasya, and the infamous Hathras incident[5].
Apart from overcrowding in religious gatherings, the next reason would be the non-compliance with the security norms and standards mandated by the government at the places where people generally gather for spending their leisure time, as happened in the Uphaar cinema[6]fire incident of Delhi in 1997, in the incident, there are no emergency exits or powerback up’s during the powercut, which is mandated by the regulating acts (Cinematograph Act[7]) that took the toll of around 59 lives.
In all the stampede-like disasters, one thing is common, they were caused by one or more factors, such as poor crowd management, lack of a public announcement system, lack of a proper exit plan, insufficient security personnel, and the administration’s failure to accurately predict crowd strength at social, public, and religious gatherings.
Dissecting the Legal provisions in India related to Stampede
There are no specific laws in India that directly apply to stampedes, but there are some provisions of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita [8](hereinafter referred to as “BNS”), formerly known as IPC, and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita[9](hereinafter referred to as “BNSS”), formerly known as CrPC, that apply to such incidents. However, in the case of stampedes, regulations or guidelines are more useful along with laws, as they suggest ways to manage large crowds.
Under BNSS, any executive magistrate or officer in charge of a police station or any officer not below the rank of SI can give orders to disperse the assembly and take the help of civil forces or criminal or both under sections 148 and 149. But these orders become ineffective in large crowds.
Section 125 of BNS talks about the Act endangering the life or personal safety of others, is another provision, but one of the major challenges in the application of this is how to find as to whose act has taken the life in a stampede.
Section 223 of the BNS talks about the disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant, although helpful for small gatherings or in places where, due to organisers fault the stampede happens, like in Pushpa 2 [10]In the stampede incident, Allu Arjun was instructed by the city administration not to wave his hand or do any act that attracts the fans, but his disobedience of the order resulted in a stampede, but not in an incident that took place at Kumbh Mela or at Delhi railway station.
Section 106 of BNS talks about the death caused by negligence, but it becomes very difficult to prove the negligence, whether on the part of an individual or an organiser, as it has to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, which is very difficult in a stampede
Apart from the laws mentioned above, guidelines on “Managing Crowd at Events and Venues of Mass Gathering”[11]provided by NDMA in 2014, help to deal with stampede-like situations.
Legal Safeguards Around the World
If we look around the world, we see a lack of a centralised framework for the management of the crowd; instead, the countries focus on a specific sector with a high possibility of a stampede.
In Saudi Arabia, a large number of devotees from around the world came for the Hajj. For this year, the number is around 1.6 million[12]. For the proper management of the hajj devotees, the government formed a new ministry known as the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah [13]that oversees the pilgrimage routes and crowd flow.
In the UK, after the Ibrox disaster [14]in 1971, the UK government came up with“The safety of sports Grounds Act 1975”for the regulation of crowds in stadiums. After the Itaewon tragedy of 2022, the South Korean government proposed some amendments to the Framework of Disaster and Safety Act to prevent stampede-like situations.
In California (USA) there are codes of regulations which are basically a bundle of legislation, Tittle 19 ( Division 1)of the codes talks about the fire safety as the stampede are majorly caused by the panic situation that often caused due to the fire, the codes mandates the emergency exits and trained crowd managers in a place of mass gatherings, Tittle 24applies on the design and construction of Buildings ensuring flow capacity planning to avoid bottlenecks and structural safety during high crowd loads, Non-compliance with this codes will attract heavy fines.
The above-mentioned are a few major but various laws exist around the world that indirectly deal with stampede.
Way Forward
As the famous Adage states, “The Solution lies in the Problem”. This stands true for the stampede also, to tackle a stampede-like situation, firstly, as pointed out by the Justice John Michael Cunha Committee, there should be a standardised framework, or better say a piece of statute, which deals with stampede and helps in making the guidelines given by the NDMA enforceable.
Secondly, we needed a mechanism to ensure the liability for the loss of life. The Hon’ble Andhra Pradesh High Court in Kamal Theatre v. Kasireddy Varlakshmi, 2001observes that in cases of stampede, the authorities ought to apply the principle of strict liability. The organisers of such events constitute the primary contributors to these incidents by failing to adhere to prescribed guidelines and by not ensuring adequate arrangements. Moreover, given their greater financial capacity, they are better positioned to compensate the victims.
Thirdly, we need a supervising authority that sees whether the proper arrangements have been made or not before giving permission. Justice John Michael Cunha Commission formed to investigate the RCB celebration stampede cited the lack of proper arrangement, queue system, and old infrastructure as the causes of the stampede and stated that the celebration happened there after all this, which shows the negligence on the part of supervising authorities.
Further, the Hon’ble Delhi High Court in Associationof Victims of Uphaar Tragedy vs Union of India&ors. observed the need for the formation of the Area Inspection Committee, which checks the arrangements before the organisation of such events.
Apart from the religious area, the railway station too sometimes becomes a place for a stampede. Thetwo-member committee comprising Narsingh Deo and Pankaj Gangwar[15]suggested the formation of holding areas outside the major railway stations and also only allows the passenger inside the station who has confirmed tickets.
Fourthly, like Saudi Arabia, in India, the government should also think of forming a separate department or agency to efficiently manage events like Kumbh, which, according toThe New York Times, is the largest spiritual gathering in the world[16].
Conclusion
Stampedes remind us of state machinery’s failure to manage crowds effectively and improper planning for large gatherings. In India, the poor infrastructure and lack of proper measures play an essential role in the occurrence of such gruesome and unfortunate events. This raises questions regarding the current framework, whether it is appropriate enough to deal with the issue, and if not, then what should be done?
For instance, the guidelines framed by NDMA and the anticipatory powers given in the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita allow the administration to regulate crowd management and help in stampede prevention. Proactive measures in this direction must be taken by the government. Some steps, such as limiting crowd sizes, designing efficient exit routes, ensuring a sufficient workforce for crowd management, and leveraging technology for monitoring and planning, would help the government to achieve its objective.
[1]Darshan Devaiah B.P, ‘How did celebration of RCB’s historic win in IPL spiral into chaos and crisis – explained’ (The Hindu, 07 June 2025)https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/how-did-celebration-of-rcbs-historic-win-in-ipl-spiral-into-chaos-and-crisis-explained/article69668074.ece accessed 20 June 2025
[2]Neha LM Tripathi, ‘Panic on the tracks: 12 die in freak Jalgaon train tragedy’ (Hindustan Times, 23 January 2025) https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/panic-on-the-tracks-12-die-in-freak-jalgaon-train-tragedy-101737571636330.html accessed 22 June 2025
[3]Maha Kumbh Mela 2025: Stampede in Prayagraj on Mauni Amavasya – Live updates’ (The Hindu,30 January, 2025) https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/maha-kumbh-mela-2025-stampede-in-prayagraj-on-mauni-amavasya-live-updates/article69153214.ece accessed 25 June 2025
[4]United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), & International Science Council (ISC). (2025). UNDRR-ISC Hazard Information Profiles – 2025 Update: HUMAN Stampede or Crushing United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction; International Science Council. https://www.undrr.org/terms/hips/SO0302 accessed 25 June 2025
[5]Sarah Shamim, “What caused the deadly crowd crush in Hathras, India?” (Al Jazeera English, 3 July 2024) https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/7/3/what-caused-the-deadly-crowd-crush-in-hathras-india accessed 25 July, 2025
[6]“26 years of Uphaar cinema tragedy: 15 unknown facts”(Times of India, 13 June 2023) https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/26-years-of-uphaar-cinema-tragedy-15-unknown-facts/articleshow/100959355.cms accessed 26 July, 2025
[7]The Cinematograph Act, 1952 (Act No 37 of 1952)https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/2170/5/a1952-37.pdf accessed 26 July, 2025
[8]The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No 45 of 2023) https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/20062 accessed 27 July, 2025
[9]The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (Act No 46 of 2023) https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/20099 accessed 28 July, 2025
[10]“An avoidable tragedy: On the Pushpa 2 stampede” (The Hindu, 27 December 2024) https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/an-avoidable-tragedy-on-the-pushpa-2-stampede/article69029995.ece accessed 28 July, 2025
[11]National Disaster Management Authority, Managing Crowd at Events and Venues of Mass Gathering: A Guide for State Government, Local Authorities, Administrators and Organizers (Government of India, 2014) https://www.ndma.gov.in/sites/default/files/PDF/Reports/managingcrowdsguide.pdf accessed 30 July, 2025
[12]Gulam Jeelani, “Hajj 2025: Over a million Muslims gather in Mecca. Know key rituals, dress code and weather in Saudi city” (LiveMint, 4 June 2025) https://www.livemint.com/news/india/hajj-2025-over-a-million-muslims-gather-in-mecca-know-key-rituals-dress-code-and-weather-in-saudi-city-11749019314629.htmlaccessed 30 July, 2025
[13]Hajj – Ministry of Hajj Home Page https://www.hajinformation.com/ accessed 30 July, 2025
[14]“Our Records: The Ibrox Disaster of 1971” (Scotland’s People, 6 January 2022) https://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/article/our-records-ibrox-disaster-1971 accessed 30 July, 2025
[15]PTI, “Railways name members of committee formed to probe stampede at New Delhi Station” (Economic Times, 17 February 2025) https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/railways/railways-name-members-of-committee-formed-to-probe-stampede-at-new-delhi-station/articleshow/118297096.cms?from=mdr accessed 30 July, 2025
[16]New York Times, “Maha Kumbh Mela” (New York Times, 27 February 2025) https://www.nytimes.com/card/2025/02/27/world/asia/maha-kumbh-mela accessed 30 July, 2025
Author Name- Aditya Dhakad, IInd year law student, NLIU, Bhopal
