PRAYAGRAJ, Jan. 28 -- The Allahabad high court has directed the Mela Authority and the commission of inquiry to finalise, within 30 days, the compensation claim filed by the husband of a victim of the Mahakumbh stampede. The court refused to further delay the claim pending submission of the final report by the inquiry panel. Hearing a writ petition filed by Uday Pratap Singh, a division bench comprising justice Ajit Kumar and justice Swarupama Chaturvedi warned that non-compliance with the order would compel the court to take a serious view of the matter. It may be noted that the stampede occurred in the early hours of January 29, 2025, reportedly killing around 30 to 39 people. During an earlier hearing on June 6, 2025, a vacation bench of the high court had come down heavily on the Uttar Pradesh government over the delay in disbursing ex gratia to the families of those killed in the stampede. On January 8, 2026, the state government informed the court that the commission of inquiry had already recorded the petitioner's statement on December 17, 2025, and that the issue of death during the stampede was being examined in coordination with the Mela Authority. The state contended that the inquiry's timeline had been extended in the larger public interest, as several dependents and guardians of victims had approached the commission belatedly and their statements were still being recorded. However, the bench was not convinced and refused to delay the payment of compensation any further. It observed: "Although this court on June 6, 2025 passed a detailed order requiring the authorities to file their personal affidavit at this stage, we find it necessary to get the issue of claim of compensation of the petitioner finalized at the earliest." The court, in its order dated January 8, fixed February 18, 2026 as next date of hearing for the filing of the compliance affidavit....