Swami Shiv Swarupanand Ji Maharaj vs State Of U.P. And 3 Others

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
WRIT – C No. - 41777 of 2025
Swami Shiv Swarupanand Ji
Maharaj
…..Petitioners(s)
Versus
State of U.P. & 3 Others …..Respondents(s)
Counsel for Petitioners(s) : Dharmendra Kumar Gupta, Kiran
Gupta
Counsel for Respondent(s) : Harsh Vardhan Gupta
Reserved on: 26.05.2026
Delivered on: 22.07.2026
AFR
Court No. -38
HON’BLE VINOD DIWAKAR, J.
Although the present case relates to an unauthorized construction,
but this Court has expanded the scope of the writ petition to address a
larger issue that requires urgent attention.
I- PROLOGUE:
THE PRIMACY OF UNDERSTANDING OVER REACTION
“The governance of large human gatherings- particularly those of
a religious, cultural, or congregational nature- has, for far too long, been
approached by administrative authorities as a logistical and law-and-
order challenge rather than as a complex socio-psychological and
behavioural phenomenon demanding systematic academic inquiry,
institutional research, and evidence-based policy response. The recurring
tragedies witnessed at pilgrimage sites, religious congregations, and
mass gatherings across the country- including, most recently, the crowd
crush incidents at Maha Kumbh Mela- 2025, at Prayagraj, and crowd

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crush at Mathura, in 2022- are not merely the product of administrative
failure or infrastructural inadequacy but at their root, they reflect a
profound and institutionalized ignorance of the science of crowd
behaviour: how crowds form, how they move, how they think
collectively, how panicky propagates through dense human assemblies,
and at what precise point a gathering transitions from a manageable
congregation to a lethal crush. Until this foundational deficit is
acknowledged and remedied, no amount of deployment of police
personnel, erection of barricades, traffic diversion or issuance of
standard operating procedures will suffice to prevent the recurrence of
such tragedies.
It is in this context that this Court considers it necessary to
examine, at some depth, the academic foundations of crowd behaviour
science and to assess the extent to which the district administration of
Mathura, the U.P. Braj Teertha Vikas Parishad, and the Mathura
Vrindavan Development Authority have engaged- or conspicuously
failed to engage- with this body of knowledge in discharging their
respective statutory and constitutional obligations toward public safety.”
II- BACKGROUND AND BRIEF HISTORY OF THE CASE:
1. The present petition has been preferred assailing the impugned
order dated 04.09.2025, passed by the respondent no.2- Commissioner,
Agra Division, Agra, in Case No.RST/01751/2017, whereby the
petitioner's appeal has been rejected by the Commissioner.
2. In brief, the facts of the case are that the petitioner claims to be the
sole owner and possessor of the property ad-measuring 167.22 square
meters, falling in Khasra Nos.64/189, 65 and 66, situated in Village
Vrindavan Khaddar, Tehsil and District Mathura. It is further averred that
in order to raise construction on the property in question, the petitioner
submitted a building plan for sanction with the Mathura Vrindavan
Development Authority for construction of an Ashram, and the same was
disapproved on the ground that the area lies within the flood-affected

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area, and therefore, no permanent structure could be build up on the plot
in question.
3. The petitioner raised the construction. Dissatisfied by the
construction, the Mathura Vrindavan Development Authority/respondent
no. 4 passed a demolition order under Sections 27(1), 28(1) and 28(ii) of
the U.P. Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973. Aggrieved by the
same, the petitioner preferred an appeal under Section 27(iv) of the
Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973. The same came to be
dismissed by the Appellate Authority/Commissioner, Agra Division,
Agra, on the ground that despite being given sufficient opportunity of
hearing, the petitioner could not establish that the construction had been
raised as per the approved sanction plan of the Mathura Vrindavan
Development Authority.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the impugned
action of the authority is arbitrary and discriminatory, amounting to a
case of "pick and choose". It is contended that, as is evident from
Annexure-10 to the writ petition, demolition orders have been passed
against 23 persons for alleged unauthorized constructions; however, such
demolition proceedings have been selectively executed only against the
petitioner and certain others, namely those placed at serial nos. 4, 9, 10
and 11 in the said list. It is thus argued that similarly situated persons
have been treated unequally, without any reasonable classification or
justification, rendering the impugned action legally unsustainable.
5. After hearing learned counsel for the petitioner and on perusal of
the record, this Court vide order dated 23.04.2026 directed respondent
no. 4/Mathura Vrindavan Development Authority (MVDA) to file a
comprehensive affidavit. It was further directed that the affidavit should
be filed by the Vice Chairman, MVDA, in consultation with its
Chairman, and should, inter-alia, specifically contain: (i) the status and
action taken by MVDA in respect of demolition proceedings concerning
all 23 properties against whom demolition orders had been passed; (ii)
the number and details of properties booked by MVDA for unauthorized

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construction during the last five years; and (iii) the policy framework,
statutory guidelines, standard operating procedures, and administrative
mechanisms adopted by the authority to regulate, prevent, and curb
unauthorized constructions within its jurisdiction.
6. It was also observed that in the recent past, the city of Mathura
had witnessed incidents of stampede-like crowd crush during pre-Holi
events and other auspicious occasions, resulting in injuries, loss of
consciousness, and casualties. The heavy influx of devotees during
festivals had led to dangerous overcrowding, raising serious concerns
regarding public safety at these historically significant sites.
Unauthorized constructions had further aggravated the situation by
obstructing rescue and emergency operations, as had been observed on
several such occasions.
7. In view of the above, this Court deemed it appropriate to expand
the scope of the present writ petition. Accordingly, the District
Magistrate, Mathura, was directed to file an affidavit indicating whether
a comprehensive plan for crowd and crisis management existed for
Mathura. The affidavit was also required to disclose whether any expert
body exist in the district for: (i) understanding crowd behaviour; (ii)
coordination among stakeholders with clearly defined roles and
responsibilities; and (iii) methodologies adopted for effective crowd
management. The District Magistrate was further directed to provide
details of the strategies and management principles in place for handling
crowd-related disasters, for sensitizing stakeholders, and for enhancing
institutional capacity through training and awareness.
8. All officers concerned, as referred to herein, were directed to
clearly and specifically state in their respective affidavits whether any
scientific studies, academic research, or institutional analyses had been
conducted by or on behalf of the district administration. Such disclosures
were required to include details of any involvement of academic
institutions, research bodies, or expert agencies, particularly in light of
the recent stampede-like crowd crush incidents reported in Mathura. The

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affidavits were further required to indicate the scope, methodology,
findings, and recommendations of any such studies, as well as the extent
to which these insights had been considered or implemented by the
District authorities in order to prevent recurrence of similar incidents.
9. The Municipal Commissioner, Mathura, and the SSP, Mathura,
were also directed to file affidavits outlining the measures undertaken by
Nagar Nigam, Mathura, and the Police to ensure that the city remained
safe and livable.
10. In compliance thereof, the Vice Chairman, Mathura Vrindavan
Development Authority, District Magistrate, Mathura, and SSP Mathura
have filed compliance affidavit. The District Magistrate, Municipal
Commissioner, Commissioner, Mathura Division, Mathura, SSP
Mathura and Chief Executive Officer, Uttar Pradesh Braj Teerth Vikas
Parishad have appeared through video conferencing, and the officers
have been heard.
III- FACTS AND FINDINGS EMERGING FROM THE AFFIDAVIT OF
THE VICE CHAIRMAN MATHURA VRINDAVAN DEVELOPMENT
AUTHORITY, MATHURA:
11. From the affidavit filed by the Vice Chairman, Mathura Vrindavan
Development Authority, it is discernible that pursuant to Supreme
Court’s order dated 13.11.2024, passed in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 295
of 2022 in “Re: Directions in the matter of demolition of structures and
others,” the State Government issued certain directions vide circulars
dated 15.01.2025, 17.01.2025 and 25.04.2026 mandatorily required to be
adhered with before executing any demolition order. The directions to
the District Magistrate, Municipal/Local Authorities are comprehensive
and self explanatory.
12. It is further gathered from the affidavit that in view of the
aforesaid Circulars, the Development Authority need to issue fresh
notices before executing the demolition orders. The Vice Chairman has
in detail examined and explained, each property mentioned in the

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impugned demolition notification. In most of the cases the application
for compounding the unauthorized construction has been pending
consideration in the office of MVDA Mathura.
13. It is further gathered that out of referred 23 offending
constructions, 01 has been compounded, 03 have been found to be
beyond territorial jurisdiction of MVDA Mathura, for 03 offending
constructions, the notices have been issued, and for 16 properties,
demolition orders are yet to be examined in the wake of newly issued
circulars. It is also indicated that in some cases appeals are pending,
therefore, no requisite action has been undertaken and the decision on 16
applications for seeking compounding of the offending constructions
shall be taken in consonance and in-conformity with building by-laws.
14. It further emerges from the affidavit that over the last five years
(2021-22 to 2025-26), the Authority has undertaken enforcement action
against unauthorized constructions, issuing 2,453 notices under Section
27(1) of the Uttar Pradesh Urban Planning and Development Act, 1973.
Pursuant to these notices, 700 demolition orders were passed, of which
323 were actually executed. Additionally, 104 properties were sealed,
and 212 cases were regularized through compounding. While the data
reflects a sustained enforcement drive, it represents merely the tip of the
iceberg- the magnitude of the problem is far more serious and grave than
what these figures suggest.
15. The details of action taken by the authority against unauthorized
constructions over the last five years are set out in the table below.
Sl.
Year Number of
Number of
Number of
Accepted
No.
Notices Issued
Demolition Orders
Properties
Compounding
under Section
Passed
Sealed
27(1)
1 2021–22 624 52 35 2
2 2022–23 539 135 49 12
3 2023–24 485 179 135 5

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4 2024–25 400 181 50 46
5 2025–26 405 153 54 39
Total 2453 700 323 104
IV- FACTS EMERGING FROM THE AFFIDAVIT OF DISTRICT
MAGISTRATE, MATHURA:
16. The Court directed the District Magistrate, Mathura, to file a
personal affidavit addressing three specific questions: (i) whether a
comprehensive crowd and crisis management plan exists; (ii) whether
any expert/specialized body exists to study the crowd behaviour; and
(iii) what methodologies are adopted for effective crowd management.
17. In response to the specific questions, the affidavit discloses that
after stampede at Shri Banke Bihari Ji Temple, Vrindavan, on
20.08.2022 during Aarti, in which two persons died, the State
Government came into action and subsequently litigation also ensued.
The affidavit acknowledges that while Mathura City has remained
largely incident-free, Kasba Vrindavan, with its dense concentration of
major temples, faces acute crowd pressure during festivals.
18. After the stampede on 22.08.2022, the Government constituted a
High-Level Committee (chaired by Shri Sulkhan Singh, former DGP,
U.P.) This committee submitted a report on 07.09.2022 recommending
three categories of measures: (i) Immediate, (ii) Short-term, and (iii)
Long-term. Subsequently, the Hon'ble Supreme Court, by order dated
08.08.2025 in WP (Civil) No. 704/2025, constituted the "Thakur Shri
Banke Bihari Ji Temple High Powered Management Committee" under
the chairmanship of a Retired Judge of the Allahabad High Court, with
the DM, SSP, District Judge, Municipal Commissioner, and MVDA Vice
Chairman as members.
19. The affidavit asserts that a comprehensive crowd management
plan exists, and implemented through: Multi-departmental coordination
meetings chaired by the DM, one-way routing, barricading, and en-

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marking holding areas around temples, vehicle diversion and restriction
of four-wheeler near temples, separate entry and exit gates at Banke
Bihari Temple, extension of Darshan hours (12 hrs normal / 18 hrs on
special occasions), online Darshan registration, live telecasting of
Thakurji's Darshan, installation of steel pipe queue barriers, CCTV
deployment, and conduct of structural survey of temple lanes by IIT
Roorkee.
20. The affidavit further discloses engagement of expert agencies for
designing, and architectural purpose which prepared a preliminary Brij
Vikas Yojana Report (May 2019), and preparation of a Traffic Survey
and Analysis Report for Green Mobility Zone Study for Mathura-
Vrindavan (April 2026).
21. Further reliance has been placed upon multiple departments report
regarding ongoing and proposed works: Road widening (PWD), new
bypass construction (NHAI-32 KM NH-530B, completed on
30.08.2025), Vrindavan Bypass proposed, development of Parikrama
Marg by Brij Teerth Vikas Parishad, bus station up-gradation under PPP
by UPSRTC, railing installation in lanes, installation of RO plants,
construction of mobile toilets, solid waste management by Nagar Nigam,
decentralization of religious sites, parking and rope-way development by
MVDA.
22. Following the 2022 stampede, Anant Sharma vs. State of U.P.
(PIL 1509/2022) was filed before the High Court seeking a mandamus
directing preparation of a proper maintenance plan for Banke Bihari
Temple, protecting rights of Vaishnav devotees under Article 25 of the
Constitution, and acquisition of approximately 5 acres of land around the
temple for public facilities and parking.
23. The affidavit identifies a clear division of responsibilities across
agencies: DM is responsible for overall administration, magistrate
deployment, emergency medical, disaster planning, SSP shall maintain
crowd control, CCTV, barricading, police deployment, Municipal

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Commissioner shall look after sanitation, water, lighting, MVDA is
responsible for parking, encroachment removal, infrastructure, PWD job
is road widening, ARTO (transport enforcement), UPSRTC (pilgrim
facilities), and Brij Teerth Vikas Parishad (Parikrama Marg, public
amenities).
V- FACTS EMERGING FROM THE AFFIDAVIT OF SUPERINTENDENT
OF POLICE, MATHURA:
24. A conjoint reading of the affidavit dated 03.05.2026 and
18.05.2026 and accompanying documents indicates that the SSP’s
affidavit largely mirrors the District Magistrate’s affidavit in its factual
narration regarding the 2022 stampede, constitution of High Level
Committee constituted by High Court pursuant to PIL No. 1509 of 2022,
and the Supreme Court also directed for constitution of High Powered
Management Committee. The affidavit further discloses about action
plan for strengthening the traffic management system in the Vrindavan
area, adoption of effective route system for operation of E-Rickshaws,
Autos in Kasba Vrindavan, Prohibition of E-Rickshaws, Autos in Kasba
Vrindavan at such places where there is potentiality of crowd traffic
congestion. Certain locations have been identified where iron chain
barriers have been installed, dedicated Action Plan for Traffic
Management on Saturdays/Sundays and Special Occasions/Festivals in
Kasba Vrindavan has been in place.
25. Vrindavan has been divided into 5 traffic zones, each staffed with
dedicated Sub-Inspectors (Traffic), 34 traffic intersections/crossings
have traffic police personnel deployed, 7 E-Rickshaw routes have been
designated with fixed fares and vehicle capacity numbers, 34 iron chain
barrier locations have been identified and installed to prohibit
unauthorized entry of E-Rickshaws and four-wheeler into inner lanes —
though several are noted as already damaged, signaling maintenance
lapses. On Saturdays, Sundays, and festival days, heavy vehicles are
fully prohibited from entering Kasba Vrindavan from 09 specified
points, with diversion routes via NH-19 and Yamuna Expressway, 04

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primary parking facilities are designated for normal days, with overflow
parking at Mandi Samiti and IIT-IAI College. For NH-19 traffic, 05
designated parking areas exist near Chardham Mandir, 06 vehicle
diversion points are specified for crisis management, with fire tenders,
ambulances, and emergency vehicles explicitly exempted from all
restrictions.
26. Vehicle diversion points for crowd control has been identified and
vehicles are diverted in accordance with the plan. A report has also been
placed with regard to the enforcement action taken by the office of
Assistant Regional Transport Officer (Enforcement Mathura) indicating
the number of vehicles seized and individuals challaned for various
traffic violations.
27. To avoid future crowd crushing stampede, the intensive
enforcement action will be taken by the enforcement team against
vehicles parked unauthorizedly on the road side, so that obstruction to
the movement of vehicles can be prevented and transportation to the
devotees will be smooth and easy.
28. Besides the issues related to the traffic diversion and crowd
control, the affidavit also highlighted the roles and responsibility of the
Public Works Department in widening the roads, office of Assistant
Regional Transport Officer for enforcement actions, role of Mathura
Vrindavan Development Authority dealing with unauthorized
constructions and other issues, role of Uttar Pradesh State Road
Transport Corporation to provide adequate facilities at bus stations for
devotees visiting Mathura, role of Uttar Pradesh Braj Teerth Vikas
Parishad for construction of Parikrama Marg and public amenities. The
Nagar Nigam Mathura Vrindavan’s role for installing railings in lane for
the convenient darshan of devotees, a smooth supply of clean drinking
water, solid waste management, mobile toilets, cleaning arrangements
and street lighting facilities.

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29. Likewise, reliance has been placed upon a report dated 15.05.2026
prepared by National Highway Authority of India for constructing
Mathura-Bareilly highway by-pass providing effective relief to devotees
visiting Mathura from traffic congestion. Construction of Vrindavan by-
pass etc.
30. After hearing Shri M.C. Chaturvedi, learned Additional Advocate
General, assisted by Shri Prabhakar Tripathi, learned Standing Counsel,
Shri D.S. Chauhan, learned counsel for Respondent No. 4, and Shri D.K.
Gupta, learned counsel for the petitioner, it emerges that the authorities
have, on paper, undertaken considerable preparatory work. The police,
after identifying traffic-congested locations, have put in place traffic
diversion plans. For the purposes of urban development, a ten-year
Development Master Plan has also been prepared by the U.P. Braj
Teertha Vikas Parishad in addition to the developmental work
undertaken by the Development Authority and the National Highways
Authority of India.
31. However, it must be clearly stated that the intention of this Court
was never to examine or assess the efficacy of the traffic diversion plans
or the ten-year Development Master Plan prepared by the U.P. Braj
Teertha Vikas Parishad in conjunction with the Mathura Vrindavan
Development Authority.
32. Upon a close and careful perusal of the order dated 23rd April,
2023, the true purport and spirit of the directions issued thereunder are
self-evident. The Court's primary concern and emphasis was- and
remains- whether the administration of the city of Mathura has any
comprehensive crowd and crisis management plan, grounded in a
scientific understanding of crowd behaviour, and capable of anticipating,
preventing, and responding to crowd-related emergencies of the nature
that have tragically manifested in recent times.
33. This Court is constrained to observe that the State is not bereft of
talent, expertise, or resources. What appears to be conspicuously absent

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is vision- and the selfless commitment to public service that responsible
governance demands. The universities and research laboratories of this
country are endowed with considerable intellectual wealth and technical
capacity that remains, by and large, untapped by the administrative
machinery- not because it is inaccessible, but because no coherent policy
framework exists to facilitate or mandate such engagement. What is
equally disconcerting is that the cities- and religious cities in particular-
have been abandoned, whether by act or omission, to the mercies of self-
serving priest, land mafias and real estate interests, driven by nothing
more than the lure of short-term and often illicit gain. In doing so, it
seems, those entrusted with the stewardship of public resources and
public spaces have mortgaged the safety, the heritage, and the future of
the next generation. It is a dereliction that this Court cannot regard with
equanimity.
VI- CRITICAL ISSUES EMERGING DURING THE COURSE OF
ARGUMENTS:
34. During the course of arguments, several critical issues of systemic
and structural significance have emerged before this Court. First, that the
Mathura Vrindavan Development Authority prepared its master plan for
a period of merely ten years- a planning horizon that this Court regards
as wholly inadequate for a city of the religious, cultural, and
demographic significance of Mathura. Second, that crowd management
in the district has been conceptually and administratively reduced to
little more than traffic management- a reductive equivalence that reflects
a fundamental misunderstanding of the science and complexity of crowd
behaviour. Third, that stampedes and crowd crush incidents have been
attributed primarily to the existence of narrow lanes and unauthorized
constructions, along with other contributory factors- an attribution that,
while not entirely without basis, addresses only the symptomatic
manifestations of a far deeper and more entrenched planning and
governance failure.
A. The Inadequacy of Long-Term Planning: A Comparative Perspective

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35. It is a matter of considerable significance that when the city of
Chandigarh was conceived and developed in the early 1950s under the
visionary direction of the Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier, the urban
plan was designed not merely for the immediate needs of its inhabitants
but with deliberate foresight for the city's requirements over the next
several decades- incorporating sector-based zoning, dedicated green
belts, regulated building lines, and carefully calibrated population
density norms that continue to define the city's livability to this day.
36. Similarly, when Sir Edwin Lutyens and Sir Herbert Baker were
commissioned to design New Delhi in the early twentieth century, the
imperial capital was planned with a long-term architectural and urban
vision that accounted for the functional, ceremonial, and spatial
requirements of a capital city well into the foreseeable future. The city of
Jaipur, founded by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in 1727, was laid out on
the principles of architectural eminence, with a grid-based street plan,
uniform building heights, and a civic order that was designed to endure
for centuries- and which, despite centuries of organic growth and
encroachment, remains discernible and functional to this day.
37. This Court is deeply shocked and profoundly concerned that the
development plan for Mathura- one of the most ancient, sacred, and
visited pilgrimage cities in the world, receiving millions of devotees
annually and carrying an unbroken civilizational and religious heritage
of over thousand years- has been prepared for a period of merely ten
years. This is particularly incomprehensible at a time when the
Government of India has articulated its national development agenda
through the Viksit Bharat vision extending to the year 2047, and when
urban planning frameworks globally are increasingly adopting centennial
and multi-generational perspectives. A city that is eternal in its religious
significance cannot be governed by a planning document that expires in
a decade. The temporal inadequacy of the master plan is not a technical
oversight- it is a governance failure of the first order. Mathura, Ayodhya,

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Varanasi, and Chitrakoot cannot be placed at equal footing with the other
cities in Uttar Pradesh.
B. The Nature of Religious Crowds: A Distinction the Administration
Must Recognize
38. This Court considers it necessary to record an important
conceptual distinction that appears to have been lost upon the
administrative authorities concerned. The crowds that converge upon
Mathura are, by their very nature and motivation, religious crowds-
gatherings of men, women, and children drawn together by faith,
devotion, and the desire for spiritual communion. A religious crowd is,
in its essential character, a self-regulating assembly. It is animated not by
political passion, competitive aggression, or recreational excitement, but
by collective piety and shared reverence. The behavioural dynamics of a
religious crowd are therefore qualitatively and fundamentally distinct
from those of a crowd assembled for a political rally, a sporting event, or
a public protest. To equate the two- as administrative practice in this
country has long tended to do- is not merely academically imprecise; it
is administratively dangerous, because it leads to the application of
crowd control strategies designed for adversarial or unruly gatherings to
assemblies that are inherently peaceful and cooperative in their
orientation, thereby generating unnecessary friction, confusion, and, in
extreme cases, panic.
39. The self-regulating character of a religious crowd, however, must
not be mistaken for self-sufficiency. A devotional crowd, precisely
because of its heightened emotional and spiritual state, its reduced
attention to physical surroundings, and its tendency toward collective
synchronization of movement during rituals and processions, is
peculiarly vulnerable to the effects of spatial constriction, sudden density
surges, and the absence of clearly defined and adequately dimensioned
pathways for ingress, egress, and circumambulatory movement. It is the
duty of the State, and of every authority entrusted with the governance of
pilgrimage sites, to recognize and respond to this vulnerability through

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informed, sensitive, and scientifically grounded crowd management- not
through the blunt instruments of police deployment and barricade
construction that have hitherto constituted the sum total of the
administration's crowd management strategy.
C. Unauthorized Construction: A Hydra-Headed Menace
40. The problem of unauthorized construction is not unique to
Mathura. It is a pervasive and deeply entrenched challenge confronting
development authorities across virtually every city and town in India.
However, its manifestation in a religious city of Mathura's significance
assumes an altogether graver dimension, given the direct and
demonstrable causal relationship between unauthorized construction-
particularly along pilgrimage routes, riverfront ghats, and congregational
spaces- and the occurrence of crowd crush incidents, emergency access
failures, and fire safety hazards during mass gatherings.
41. The causes of unauthorized construction are multiple,
interconnected, and deeply structural. They include: the corruption of
regulatory and enforcement machinery at various levels of the
administrative hierarchy; fundamental failures of spatial planning,
including the absence of adequate provisions for affordable housing,
commercial space, and pilgrim accommodation within the formal
planning framework; institutional failure manifested in the form of
under-resourced, under-staffed, and often complicit enforcement
agencies; and, most perniciously, the systematic and sustained
interference of real estate developers, construction conglomerates, and
what may candidly be described as construction mafias in the planning
and development processes of cities- particularly in the pilgrimage cities
of northern India, where the unrelenting demand for accommodation,
commercial premises, and ritual space creates conditions of chronic
supply scarcity that are ruthlessly exploited by those with the political
connections and economic muscle to build without sanction and occupy
without consequence.

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42. This Court observes, with considerable concern, that the
development trajectories of most Indian cities have been indirectly but
powerfully shaped by the interests of construction lobbies operating in
intimate proximity to political authority. In the religious cities of
northern India- Mathura, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Prayagraj, Vrindavan- this
influence has assumed an especially virulent form, driven by the
extraordinary commercial value of land in proximity to sacred sites and
the consequent incentive structures that corrode regulatory integrity and
subvert planning discipline. Unauthorized construction in these cities is
not simply a product of poverty or ignorance; it is, in significant
measure, a product of organized, politically facilitated, economically
motivated illegality that has been allowed to accumulate over decades
through a combination of institutional complaisance, regulatory capture,
and political patronage.
43. To confront this menace effectively requires not merely stronger
laws- India does not lack for laws- but something far rarer and more
demanding: strong, selfless, and incorruptible institutional will. It
requires development authorities, district administrations, and State
governments willing to act against powerful vested interests without fear
or favour; judiciary-supported enforcement mechanisms capable of
withstanding political pressure; and a civic culture that recognizes
unauthorized construction not as a private entrepreneurial initiative but
as a public safety hazard and a collective crime against the urban fabric
and the communities that inhabit it. This Court expects nothing less from
the authorities before it.
VII- CROWD BEHAVIOUR, PLANNING HORIZONS, AND THE
MENACE OF UNAUTHORIZED CONSTRUCTION:
A. The Science of Crowd Behaviour: An Academic Overview
44. The academic study of crowd behaviour is a well-established
interdisciplinary field drawing upon social psychology, physics, urban
planning, computational modeling, and disaster management science.
Contrary to popular administrative assumption, a crowd is not merely an

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aggregation of individuals behaving independently. It is, in the language
of contemporary crowd science, a complex adaptive system exhibiting
emergent properties- collective behaviours that cannot be predicted
solely by reference to the conduct of individual members, but which
arise from the dynamic interactions among them.
1
45. The foundational work of scholars such as Gustave Le Bon , who
in the late nineteenth century identified the psychological transformation
that individuals undergo when subsumed within a crowd, laid the early
theoretical groundwork for this discipline. Le Bon's observations
regarding the submergence of individual rational agency, the
amplification of emotional contagion, and the susceptibility of crowd
members to suggestion and panic remain analytically relevant even
today, though they have been substantially refined and, in several
respects, challenged by subsequent research. Contemporary crowd
2
scientists, including Professor John Fruin , whose landmark work on
pedestrian planning and level-of-service analysis introduced the concept
of critical crowd density thresholds, and Professor G. Keith Still, who
developed the concept of crowd dynamics modeling and risk assessment
tools now widely used in event safety planning globally, have
transformed the study of crowd behaviour from a largely theoretical
exercise into a rigorous applied science with direct and measurable
implications for public safety.
46. Of particular relevance to pilgrimage and religious gatherings is
the concept of crowd density and flow velocity- the relationship between
the number of persons per square meter and the speed at which crowd
movement becomes self-sustaining, uncontrollable, and ultimately lethal.
Research has established that at densities exceeding approximately four
to five persons per square meter, individual volition is effectively lost;
persons within the crowd can no longer choose their direction of
1 Gustave Le Bon (1841–1931) was a French polymath and pioneer of social psychology. He is best

known for his 1895 seminal work, The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind. Le Bon posited that
individuals in a crowd lose their rational, critical thinking and adopt a primitive "collective mind"
driven by emotion and suggestion.
2 Fruin was an engineer, urban planner, and author known for his work in the field of crowd science.
In 1983, he received the American Society of Civil Engineers Transportation Engineering Award.

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movement and are instead carried involuntarily by the collective force of
the surrounding mass. At densities exceeding six to seven persons per
square meter- a threshold frequently encountered at major pilgrimage
sites in India- compressive asphyxia becomes a serious and imminent
risk, and the conditions for a crowd crush are fully present. The
transition from manageable congregation to lethal crush can occur within
minutes, and frequently does so without any external trigger such as fire,
explosion, or structural collapse. The crush generates its own
momentum, driven entirely by the behavioural dynamics of the crowd
itself.
47. Further, academic research has established that crowd behaviour at
religious gatherings is qualitatively distinct from crowd behaviour at
secular events such as sporting fixtures or concerts. Religious crowds are
characterized by heightened emotional and devotional states, a
pronounced tendency toward collective synchronization of movement-
particularly during rituals, processions, and circumambulatory practices-
reduced responsiveness to conventional crowd control signals such as
police instructions or public address announcements, and a significantly
elevated tolerance for discomfort, physical compression, and adverse
conditions, which paradoxically increases the risk of crush injuries and
fatalities by suppressing the early warning signals that would otherwise
prompt self-regulation and dispersal. These characteristics make the
scientific study of religious crowd behaviour not merely academically
interesting but administratively indispensable.
48. The question that arises- and which this Court regards as of the
utmost importance- is whether the district administration of Mathura, or
any of the authorities statutorily responsible for the management of the
Braj pilgrimage circuit, have at any point commissioned, conducted, or
even consulted such scientific studies and computational models in
relation to the major religious gatherings held in and around Mathura.
The affidavits filed before this Court suggest, with troubling clarity, that
they have not.

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B. The Administrative Imperative: From Behavioural Study to
Institutional Policy
49. The gap between the state of academic knowledge regarding
crowd behaviour and the state of administrative practice in Uttar
Pradesh- is not merely a gap of awareness. It is a gap of institutional
will, organizational culture, and governance philosophy. The study of
crowd behaviour must be recognized not as an academic exercise but as
an administrative necessity- a prerequisite to the formulation of any
rational, effective, and constitutionally compliant crowd management
policy.
50. What is required, at the minimum, is the establishment of a
permanent, multi-disciplinary expert body at the district and divisional
level, comprising specialists in crowd psychology, urban planning,
disaster management, civil engineering, and public health, charged with
the continuous study of crowd behavioural patterns at major religious
sites and events. This body must be empowered to conduct pre-event risk
assessments, commission site-specific crowd flow studies, engage with
academic institutions and research organizations of national and
international repute, and translate their findings into actionable
administrative directives binding upon the civil and police
administration.
51. The role of the U.P. Braj Teertha Vikas Parishad is particularly
significant in this context. As the statutory body entrusted with the
development and regulation of the Braj pilgrimage region, the Parishad
is uniquely positioned- and uniquely obligated- to serve as the
institutional anchor for crowd behaviour research and evidence-based
crowd management planning across the entire Braj circuit. Its mandate
cannot be construed as limited to infrastructure development and tourism
promotion; it must be understood to encompass the safety and well-
being of every pilgrim who visits the sacred sites under its stewardship.
A Parishad that constructs ghats, temples, and pilgrim facilities without
simultaneously commissioning rigorous crowd flow studies and

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behavioural safety assessments is a Parishad that is building the
architecture of potential tragedy.
52. Similarly, the Mathura Vrindavan Development Authority, in its
capacity as the spatial planning authority for the district, is obligated to
integrate the findings of crowd behaviour science into its master
planning, zoning, and development control processes. The width of
streets, the design of access and egress points, the location and capacity
of congregation spaces, the provision of emergency evacuation routes —
all of these are not merely engineering decisions but crowd safety
decisions, and they must be informed by a thorough understanding of
how crowds behave in the specific spatial and cultural context of
Mathura's religious landscape.
C. A Paradigm Shift from Reaction to Research
53. This Court is of the firm view that the prevention of crowd crush
disasters at pilgrimage sites across the State- cannot be achieved through
the deployment of additional police personnel, the installation of more
barricades, or the issuance of more standard operating procedures
drafted in ignorance of the science of crowd behaviour. What is required
is a fundamental paradigm shift: from reactive crowd control to
proactive crowd behaviour research; from instinct-driven administration
to evidence-based governance; from siloed departmental action to
integrated, research-informed, multi-agency coordination anchored in a
deep and institutionalized understanding of how human crowds behave,
why they behave as they do, and what specific interventions- spatial,
psychological, communicative, and institutional- are most effective in
preventing the transition from peaceful congregation to catastrophic
crush.
VIII- RECOMMENDATIONS:
54. This Court considers it appropriate to record its recommendations
to the Government of Uttar Pradesh, and through it to the relevant
academic, administrative, and policy-making bodies, with respect to the

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urgent need for institutionalizing the study of crowd behaviour and
crowd management as a recognized and structured academic discipline
within the universities, technical institutions, and professional training
establishments of the State.
Reason and Logic: It is a matter of both academic and
administrative concern that despite India being one of the most densely
populated nations on earth and Uttar Pradesh is the most densely
populated state among all States, and despite hosting the largest religious
congregations, political rallies, and mass gatherings known to human
Civilization- including the Kumbh Mela, which is recognized as the
single largest peaceful human assembly on the planet- no structured
academic curriculum devoted to the scientific study of crowd behaviour
exists in any university or institution of higher learning within the State
of Uttar Pradesh, or indeed across most of India. This lacuna is not
merely an academic oversight; it is a governance failure with direct,
measurable, and potentially fatal consequences for public safety. We
need not to be confused with crowd management, though the process of
traffic diversion and study of crowd behaviour are two different and
distinct concepts.
IX- SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS:
A. Introduction of Crowd Behaviour and Crowd Management as an
Academic Discipline
55. This Court recommends that the State Government, through the
Department of Higher Education and in consultation with the other stake
holders, direct all State universities- and particularly those offering
programmes in urban planning, public administration, disaster
management, civil engineering, architecture, sociology, applied
psychology, and data analysis, to introduce dedicated courses, modules,
and research programmes on the science of crowd behaviour
encompassing the psychological, sociological, and physical dimensions
of human crowd dynamics, including theories of collective behaviour,
crowd psychology, panic propagation, emotional contagion, and the

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behavioural distinction between religious, political, agitational,
recreational, and emergency crowds, and including;
(i) Crowd flow dynamics and density modelling- including pedestrian
movement science, level-of-service analysis, critical density thresholds,
agent-based modelling, and computational simulation of crowd
behaviour in defined spatial environments;
(ii) Crowd risk assessment and safety planning- including pre-event risk
profiling, site capacity assessment, vulnerability mapping, ingress and
egress management, emergency evacuation planning, and post-event
analysis of crowd-related incidents;
(iii) Crowd management policy and law- including the legal framework
governing public gatherings, the statutory responsibilities of
development authorities, police, district administrations, and event
organizers, and the comparative study of crowd management regulatory
frameworks in other jurisdictions;
(iv) Case studies in crowd disasters- including the systematic academic
analysis of major crowd crush incidents in India and internationally, with
particular reference to the lessons learned, the administrative failures
identified, and the corrective measures adopted thereafter.
B. Having regard to the considerations set out hereinabove, it is
recommended that the State Government shall examine the feasibility of
constituting a statutory commission for Uttar Pradesh, on the lines of the
Delhi Urban Art Commission constituted under the Delhi Urban Art
Commission Act, 1973, to advise the Government and the development
authorities on the aesthetic and environmental quality of urban design
and development in the cities of the State, and in particular on proposals
for construction that may materially affect the character of an area of
historical, architectural or environmental significance.
56. This Court further recommends that the State Government
consider establishing, in collaboration with a leading State or Central
university- or, alternatively, with the Indian Institute of Technology,

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Kanpur, the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, or any other
institution of national repute situated within the State- a dedicated
Center of Excellence for Crowd Science, Mass Gathering Safety, and
Urban Risk Management. Such a Center should be mandated to:
(i) conduct original interdisciplinary research into crowd behaviour at
religious, political, cultural, and emergency gatherings;
(ii) develop and maintain a comprehensive database of crowd-related
incidents, near-misses, and safety interventions across the State;
(iii) provide technical advisory services to district administrations,
development authorities, and event management bodies on a continuous
and institutionalized basis;
(iv) design and deliver training programmes for civil servants, police
officers, urban planners, and event administrators in the science and
practice of crowd management;
(v) collaborate with international centers of excellence in crowd science-
including the Crowd Science Unit at the University of Suffolk, United
Kingdom, the research programmes of Professor G. Keith Still, Makkah-
so as to ensure that the State's crowd management practices are aligned
with the most advanced global knowledge and methodology.
57. This Court further recommends that the State Government,
through appropriate legislative or executive action, make it mandatory
for all departments, statutory authorities, local bodies, and event
organizers- whether governmental or private- to engage qualified and
certified crowd behaviour experts and crowd safety consultants at the
planning stage of every major public gathering, irrespective of whether
such gathering is of a religious, political, agitational, cultural, or
recreational character. Such mandatory engagement should apply to, and
encompass:
58. This Court additionally recommends that the State Government
may direct all development authorities- including the Mathura Vrindavan

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Development Authority and the U.P. Braj Teertha Vikas Parishad- to
integrate crowd behaviour science and crowd safety norms into their
master planning processes, development control regulations, and
building bye-laws.
59. It must be borne in mind that we hold the urban landscape in trust
for those who come after us. If, in a State that is not wanting in land, its
cities are permitted to be surrendered to a builder–bureaucrat nexus for
the erection of high-rise structures in disregard of planning norms, the
generations to come will have neither the means to undo it nor the reason
to forgive it. The history of urban development reminds us that a city's
landscape, once disfigured, cannot be restored by the generations that
follow. Posterity will judge us not by what we built, but by what we
permitted to be destroyed.
X- CONCLUSION:
60. This Court is of the considered opinion that the recommendations
set out herein above are not aspirational moralities but minimum
governance necessities, demanded by the constitutional obligation of the
State to protect the life and safety of every citizen and pilgrim within its
territory. The right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution
of India is not fulfilled merely by the absence of active State violence; it
imposes upon the State a positive obligation to create and maintain
conditions in which human life is not lost to preventable disasters arising
from the State's own administrative and intellectual unpreparedness. The
institutionalization of crowd behaviour science- in academia, in
administration, and in policy- is a constitutional imperative that this
Court urges the State Government to act upon with the seriousness,
urgency, and commitment that it deserves.
61. Reverting back to the merits of the case, the present petition is
disposed of with the liberty to the petitioner to approach the respondent
no.4 afresh by raising his grievances, and the MVDA shall take a
decision in the light of the Circulars dated dated 15.01.2025, 17.01.2025
and 25.04.2026 issued by State Government in compliance of the

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Supreme Court’s order dated 13.11.2024, passed in Writ Petition (Civil)
No. 295 of 2022 in Re: Directions in the matter of demolition of
structures and others. Meanwhile, the impugned order dated 04.09.2025,
passed by the Commissioner, Agra Division, Agra shall be kept in
abeyance.
62. The Registrar (Compliance) is directed to forthwith transmit a
copy of this order to the Chief Secretary along with Secretary, Higher
Education; Chairman, University Grants Commission; Secretary, Higher
Education, Government of India, for their future reference and record.
July 22, 2026
A. Tripathi
(Vinod Diwakar, J.)
Digitally signed by :-
AKHILESH TRIPATHI
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad