The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (Feb 19) reprimanded the centre and Indian Railways over the stampede at the New Delhi Railway Station that killed 18 people.

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The tragic incident occurred on Saturday (Feb 15) night, triggered by overcrowding due to delayed trains and the arrival of a special Express train for Maha Kumbh in Prayagraj.

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A division bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela asked the Railways and centre why they had continued to sell tickets in excess of the number of passengers that could be accommodated in a coach.

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The court was hearing a PIL on safety measures to ensure no such incident repeats and to enforce Section 147 of the Railways Act, which prescribes a punishment of up to six months in prison and a fine of Rs 1,000 for unauthorised entry into the railway.

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“Show what steps you will take to implement existing laws that limit number of passengers in coaches and penalise persons entering without authority,” the court demanded. “From a perusal of the relevant sections (of the Railways Act)... every railway administration is under a statutory mandate to fix a certain number of passengers... and this number shall be exhibited conspicuously outside coach.”

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“If you implement a simple thing in a positive manner... in letter and spirit... this situation (the stampede at the Delhi railway station) could have been avoided,” the Chief Justice said.

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While the court acknowledged that on “rush days” the Railways could, within reason, accommodate more passengers, otherwise enforcing the maximum seating capacity “seems to have been neglected”.

“Why did number of tickets sold exceed number of berths? That is a problem,” the court asked.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Railways, accepted the court's directions and said that the Railway Board would look into all aspects of the matter. The next date of hearing is scheduled for March 26.

(With inputs from agencies)