In its first hearing of a case regarding a freak accident at Bir Billing in which a 12-year-old boy died, the Himachal Pradesh high court made the father of the deceased a co-petitioner in the case. In January, the court had taken suo moto cognisance of a News18 report about the death of Advik Tripathi, who lost his life in an accident while travelling in a pick-up vehicle at Bir Billing, a well-known spot for paragliding. It was found that the vehicle, which carried tourists to the take-off site, was filled beyond its capacity and did not have basic safety accessories. Following his death, his parents had raised questions about lax safety measures in the paragliding sector in the state and had appealed to authorities to ensure that international safety norms are followed.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was registered on the basis of the article which appeared on 16.01.2022. In the suo-moto action, a division bench comprising Justice Satyen Vaidya and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan had asked if the Himachal Pradesh government can afford to turn a Nelson’s Eye to repeated accidents in adventure sports sector that includes rappelling, bungee jumping, paragliding etc.
Talking about the first hearing of the case, Rishabh Tripathi, Advik’s father, said: “The bench was presided by the Hon’ble Chief Justice of Himachal HC himself. Based on the court’s request, Shradha (my wife) and I had joined the hearing virtually. It was a comprehensive session where the CJ asked for responses from all the districts and the concerned authorities regarding the actions undertaken post the previous order. Couple of counsels (including the one representing Bir Billing) asked for additional time for the response.”
The bench referred to the submission the parents had made on the topic and made Rishabh a co-petitioner along with court on its own motion. The bench also appointed a senior advocate to take the PIL forward on the behalf of the court and the parents.
The next hearing has been scheduled to take place two weeks later.
Advik Tripathi Foundation
As the hearings proceed in the high court, the family of the deceased has started the Advik Tripathi Foundation which is committed to causes that make the world safer and better for everyone. While the legal procedures to register it as a full-fledged foundation are underway, the members took up welfare activities, including a drive at a girls school in Barundhan in Rajasthan. The foundation distributed notebooks, sports equipment and sweaters among the students.
Earlier, the parents had started a petition to ensure safety in adventure sports in India. You can sign the petition here. It has almost 2.5 lakh signatories now.
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