A court in Katra, Jammu and Kashmir, has dismissed a plea seeking the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against officials of the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board concerning the deaths of 35 pilgrims in a landslide on August 26. The court ruled that the incident was a natural disaster, not a case of criminal negligence.
The petition alleged that the Shrine Board's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and other officials committed criminal negligence by not suspending the pilgrimage despite weather advisories from the Meteorological Centre, Srinagar, and the Jammu and Kashmir Disaster Management Authority. The plea sought the registration of an FIR under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 106 (causing death by rash or negligent acts) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Sub-Judge (Judicial Magistrate First Class) Katra, Sidhant Vaid, dismissed the plea, stating that the "proximate and immediate cause" of the incident was a natural disaster. The court clarified that its decision would not affect the inquiry ordered by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha three days after the tragedy.
The court referenced police reports and witness statements indicating that the pilgrimage was halted as needed to ensure public safety and that standard operating procedures were followed. Sub-Judge Vaid concluded that the disaster was an unforeseeable natural event, thus dismissing claims of culpable homicide and negligence. Witnesses reportedly testified to adverse weather conditions leading up to the landslide.
The court further held that criminal liability under Section 106 of the BNS requires evidence of gross negligence or rashness, foreseeability of harm, and a direct causal link between the act or omission and the deaths. The court stated that "mere error of judgment or an administrative lapse does not suffice for criminal liability". The court also ruled out culpable homicide, noting that intention and negligence involve different states of mind, and the complaint itself alleged negligence rather than intent.
