After 18 died in New Delhi station stampede, Delhi HC orders Railways to review crowd plans a week before high-footfall events and document arrangements

The petition arose from the stampede at New Delhi Railway Station on 15 February 2025, in which 18 people died and 15 were injured.

The petitioners, who had booked tickets on the Magadh Express, said they could not board because of overcrowding and were present at the station during the stampede; Petitioner No. 2 is a person with disability.

Initially filed as a PIL, the matter was directed to be treated as a civil writ petition brought in the petitioners’ individual capacity.

Although the petition originally sought compensation, accountability and a crowd-management plan, the petitioners ultimately pressed only the request for measures to manage large crowds and did not seek compensation or a ticket refund.

The respondents filed an additional affidavit describing Railway Board policies and measures for high-footfall events.

The Court cited no statute or judicial precedent. It applied the principle that framing policy falls within the executive’s domain and declined to require a fresh SOP where a relevant framework already existed.

It identified the existing Railway Board letters dated 1 May, 30 May, 2 July, 28 November and 16 December 2025 as the administrative framework addressing high-footfall events, holding areas, access control, waiting-list limits and passenger information.

The Court further considered that effective crowd management requires implementation on the ground, monitoring and proper records of the steps taken for each event.

The respondents showed that policies and circulars addressing crowd management already existed, so the Court considered it unnecessary to order a fresh SOP.

However, it found that the additional affidavit largely described future measures and that, apart from the Yatri Suvidha Kendra at New Delhi Railway Station, limited on-the-ground implementation had been demonstrated.

Given the station’s substantial passenger footfall, the Court concluded that existing measures required event-specific review and documentation, and directed implementation of the framework rather than formulation of a new policy.

It declined to direct the framing of a fresh SOP but ordered the respondents to implement the specified Railway Board circulars; ensure that a senior nominated officer, in coordination with the Delhi Police and other agencies, reviews arrangements at least one week before each event with expected large passenger footfall; prepare a written report of the arrangements; and maintain the report and related records for production before an appropriate authority or court if an incident occurs.

The respondents would be liable in case of non-compliance, and the petition was disposed of.