Supreme Court rejects plea seeking action over Maha Kumbh stampede, calls incident 'unfortunate'

The top court, which called the stampede "unfortunate", has asked the petitioner to approach the Allahabad High Court.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sanjeev Khanna said as quoted by India Today, "It is an unfortunate incident and a matter of concern, but approach the High Court. A judicial commission has already been constituted."

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, who represented the state in the top court, said a judicial probe into the stampede is underway.

A three-member panel led by retired judge Harsh Kumar is conducting a judicial probe into the incident that has brought the Yogi Adityanath administration under the scanner.

In the wake of the incident, Yogi has issued a slew of measures to manage the massive crowd taking place at the Maha Kumbh regularly.

The CM said unnecessary halts should be avoided and crowd build up must be prevented.

"Ensuring every devotee reaches their destination safely is our responsibility," said Yogi.

The CM has directed authorities to prevent overcrowding at Prayagraj stations, deploy more Mela Special trains and additional Transport Corporation buses.