A court in Jammu and Kashmir’s Katra on Saturday dismissed a plea seeking registration of an FIR against officials of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board over the death of 35 pilgrims in a landslide, ruling that the tragedy was caused by a natural disaster.
The court clarified that its order would not affect the separate inquiry ordered by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha three days after the August 26 incident.
The plea had alleged that despite weather advisories issued by the meteorological centre in Srinagar and the Jammu and Kashmir Disaster Management Authority, the pilgrimage was not suspended, amounting to criminal negligence by shrine board officials.
Sub-Judge (Judicial Magistrate First Class) Katra Sidhant Vaid dismissed the plea, which sought directions to police to register an FIR under Sections 105 and 106 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
“From the perusal of the allegations levelled in the complaint, statements recorded by the police and the police report, it is very much clear that the proximate and immediate cause of the unfortunate incident was a natural disaster,” the judge said.
“Even if what has been pleaded in the complaint is presumed to be true, then also non-compliance of the advisories issued by the meteorological department could be a lapse on the administrative side and no element of criminal negligence is present,” he added.
“In my considered opinion, the case of criminal negligence is not made out, and no cognisable offence is prima facie made out,” the judge said.
Referring to police reports and witness statements, the court said the pilgrimage was halted from time to time whenever required in the interest of public safety and standard operating procedures were followed.
Witnesses said it rained for two to three days prior to the August 26 incident, and the Yatra had been intermittently stopped on August 24 and 25 due to the heavy downpour.
The court held that for criminal liability under Section 106 of the BNS, there must be proof of a grossly negligent or rash act, foreseeability of harm and a direct causal link between the act or omission and the death. “Mere error of judgment or an administrative lapse does not suffice for criminal liability,” it said.
The court ruled out the offence of culpable homicide, noting that intention and negligence represent different states of mind and the complaint itself alleged negligence rather than intent.