Allahabad High Court, hearing a petition by Mathura’s Swami Shiv Swaroopanand Ji Maharaj, recommends research with IITs and universities
Vrindavan Today | Bureau Report
1st August, 2026, Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court has observed that stampedes at pilgrimage centres and religious gatherings are not merely the result of administrative failure in crowd management, but also stem from a lack of understanding of crowd psychology. The Court has recommended that the government undertake scientific research on the subject with the assistance of IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, and other leading universities, and introduce academic programmes dedicated to crowd science.
The Court remarked that unless there is systematic scientific study and research, tragedies cannot be prevented simply by deploying more police personnel, erecting barricades, or diverting traffic. These observations were made by Justice Vinod Diwakar while hearing a petition filed by Mathura-based Swami Shiv Swaroopanand Ji Maharaj.
Earlier, the Court had directed the Mathura-Vrindavan Development Authority (MVDA) and the district administration to file affidavits detailing the measures taken for crowd management. Finding the responses unsatisfactory, the Court issued a series of comprehensive recommendations to the State Government. It also directed that copies of its order be sent to the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh, the State Higher Education Department, the University Grants Commission (UGC), and the Union Ministry of Education for compliance and necessary action.
The High Court further observed that preparing master plans with a horizon of only ten years for ancient pilgrimage cities such as Mathura, Ayodhya, Varanasi, and Chitrakoot reflects a serious administrative shortcoming. It emphasized that the psychology and movement patterns of pilgrims are fundamentally different from those of crowds at political rallies or sporting events, and therefore require a distinct scientific policy framework.
The Court recommended that Crowd Behaviour and Crowd Management be introduced as independent academic disciplines in universities across Uttar Pradesh. It also advised the State Government to consider establishing a Centre of Excellence for Crowd Science, Mass Gathering Safety, and Urban Risk Management in collaboration with IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, or another premier institution.
Referring to the stampede during the 2025 Mahakumbh, as well as incidents reported in Vrindavan and other religious centres, the Court observed that the administration continues to view crowd management primarily as a traffic-control exercise. In reality, it said, crowd management is an interdisciplinary field involving social psychology, urban planning, and disaster management.
The Court noted that authorities often fail to understand how crowds form, how they move, and how collective human behaviour evolves in mass gatherings. It stressed that crowd management should not be treated merely as a law-and-order issue but as a complex socio-psychological and practical phenomenon requiring structured academic research, institutional expertise, and evidence-based policymaking.
