The High Court of Uttarakhand in Nainital has kept its decision secure in the public interest litigation filed by Delhi resident Ajay Gautam regarding alleged negligence and failure of the State Government in search for the skeletal remains in Kedarnath. According to the petitioner, following the 2013 disaster, thousands of people had gone missing in the disaster-affected Kedarnath area but the state government did not undertake proper efforts to recover the remains of the victims.
About three years after the disaster, with skeletal remains coming to light in the Kedarnath area, the state government is neither undertaking the needful to recover the skeletal remains nor is it working towards getting the last rites of these victims done. The petitioner has demanded lodging of criminal case against any government official found guilty of negligence in addition which the PIl also seeks that an expert search team be sent to Kedarnath for spotting the recovering the skeletal remains. During hearing on the case, it was stated on behalf of the state government that one team has been set up for this purpose. Hearing the representation, the division bench of the high court comprising senior justice Rajiv Sharma and justice Alok Singh kept its decision secure.