The incident occurred at the Rajiv Marriage Palace in Dabwali, where the local DAV Public School was holding its annual prize distribution function.
The fire spread quickly and blocked the main entrance; many of the deaths were caused by the resultant stampede as 1,500 people tried to escape through the single exit door.
[4] An angry crowd of 5,000 mourners gathered on the streets of Dabwali, deriding the emergency facilities and blocking the police from taking bodies away for cremation.
[8] The court replied that they hadn’t carried out adequate fire safety checks, and directed them to pay an interim compensation of Rs 10cr(2.2 million USD$, 2003) before the appeal could be heard.
[9] Members of the Dabwali Fire Victims Association, formed by the survivors and the families of the dead, feel that not enough has been done to ensure that the tragedy will never be repeated.