The high court said while the incident appeared to be an accident, "it is more or less limpid (clear) that there was some failure".
Published Dec 06, 2023 | 1:16 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 06, 2023 | 1:17 PM
Kerala High Court. (Creative Commons)
On Tuesday, 5 December, the Kerala High Court said the stampede during the Cochin University’s annual tech festival, which claimed four lives, was clearly due to “some failure” and “should never have happened”.
The court was hearing a plea seeking a judicial inquiry into the incident.
While the court declined the request for a judicial inquiry, it said the incident was shocking and horrible.
Justice Devan Ramachandran said the cause of the incident must be found out so that measures can be put in place to prevent such incidents from happening.
The Kerala government on 26 November, said it had decided to constitute an expert committee to look into the stampede during the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) annual festival a day ago that claimed four lives and injured at least 60 others.
State Higher Education Minister R Bindu said the expert panel would also frame terms of reference to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future.
Four people, including two women, were killed and 60 injured in the stampede that took place before renowned singer Nikita Gandhi was to perform at a musical festival in the open-air auditorium of CUSAT.
Of the four persons killed, three —Athul Thampi (23), Sara Thomas (19) and Ann Rifta Roy (20)— were students of the School of Engineering of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) and the fourth—Palakkad-based Alwin— an electrician who had ended up at the festival by chance.
The high court said while the incident appeared to be an accident, “it is more or less limpid (clear) that there was some failure”.
“This is affirmed by the respondents also. The authorities of the university had specific duties and responsibilities, particularly when congregations of students were to occur within the campus. The role of the police and security personnel also will, therefore, have to be looked into, not for this case alone, but as a guideline for the future, lest such accidents happen again, which is unthinkable,” the court said.
The observations by the court came on a plea seeking a judicial inquiry into the incident.
The court declined to order a judicial inquiry after the state government said that certain inquiries had already been commenced by the official agencies and the university. “This court will certainly require details of such inquiries,” Justice Ramachandran said.
The court also noted that such an incident has perhaps never happened in Kerala before, and it was shocking because of the horrible aftermath it has left.
“Brilliant lives, who could have been treasures to the nation, were lost…Precious lives have been lost, and the loss for the families is ever to stay. Public memory may be short, but the scar on the members of the families can never be allayed,” it observed.
The court said that since the event was stated to have been organised by the students themselves, utmost care must be taken by every stakeholder so that the minds of the young people involved are not subjected to blame game or guilt during the inquiries.
With the directions, the court listed the matter for further hearing on 14 December.
Following the tragic incident, state Industries Minister P Rajeev had said existing guidelines for big public events, including those in universities and colleges, would be revised and updated from time to time to prevent such accidents.
The Kerala State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) on 27 November, registered a case in connection with the stampede at Cochin University’s annual tech festival and sought a report from the state government within two weeks.
The open-air auditorium on campus, located near the canteen and the Student Amenities Centre, was scheduled to hold a music concert by Nikhita Gandhi when the stampede occurred.
The event, which took place on the final day of the three-day annual Tech Fest, Dhishna, was ticketed. Those who had a gate pass received a black “Dhishna” T-shirt.
According to sources, the gates opened at 5:30 pm and invitees were told they would close at 7:30 pm.
However, at about 7 pm, severe rain lashed the campus, prompting many gathered outdoors to run into the nearby roofed auditorium. People went over the auditorium stairs during the uproar, causing the stampede, ADGP MR Ajithkumar told reporters.
According to the senior police officer, the auditorium — which has a single access and exit point and a capacity of 2,000 — was only “partly filled” during the rush.
According to estimates, there were approximately 800 individuals inside the auditorium during the rush.
Reports said the crowd included those who did not have the passes. They had gathered outdoors to watch the event.
According to CUSAT Vice-Chancellor PG Sankaran, the institution had informed the police about the programme.
However, as Kochi was hosting a home game of the Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League, most of the city’s police presence was concentrated in and around the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium at Kaloor.
“The exit and entry through the same gate had caused the stampede,” stated Municipal Kalamassery Councillor P Pramod. “As the students were trying to enter through the same gate, those who fell were stomped over by those who rushed in,” he explained.
VC Sankaran said around 2,500 students from the institution attended the programme on Saturday, 25 November. Residents and students from adjacent institutions were also present on the campus at the time of the disaster.
(With PTI inputs)
