The Calcutta High Court has directed the West Bengal government to establish a commission of inquiry headed by a retired High Court judge to investigate the Chorbagan stampede that reportedly killed 19 people on October 17.
A division bench headed by Chief Justice Ravindra V Ghuge said on Tuesday that the state government could appoint a retired judge of the High Court to lead the inquiry. The court said a sitting judge could not be appointed to head the commission in view of a directive of the Supreme Court.
The commission will examine the cause of the stampede and identify those responsible for the incident, according to the court’s direction. The order came during a special sitting of the vacation bench on Navami of the Durga Puja festival.
The bench was hearing a public interest litigation filed by a lawyer seeking an independent and speedy investigation into the incident. The stampede took place on Saptami, the first day of the Durga Puja festival, when large crowds were gathering in the city.
The court’s direction changes the framework proposed by the state administration. Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari had said that a sitting High Court judge would head a special investigation team to be formed to investigate the stampede. The court instead directed the government to constitute a commission led by a retired judge.
The inquiry is expected to focus on the circumstances that led to the crowd crush and the accountability of the people responsible. The court’s intervention also places the investigation within a formal commission-of-inquiry process rather than limiting it to the special investigation team proposed by the administration.
The incident has raised questions about crowd management and public safety during major festival gatherings, although the court’s direction, as reported, is centred on determining the cause of the stampede and responsibility for it. The supplied report does not provide further details about the location’s crowd-control arrangements, emergency response or the specific findings of any preliminary investigation.
The next step is for the Bengal government to select a retired judge of the Calcutta High Court to head the commission and formally set up the inquiry, in accordance with the court’s direction.
