Karur Stampede: High Court ordered SIT probe challenged before Supreme Court by Actor Vijay's party TVK

Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, actor Vijay's part has approached the Supreme Court of India challenging the Madras High Court's order constituting a Special Investigation team to investigate the Karur stampede.

An SLP has been filed today against the High Court's order from October 3rd headed by Inspector General (IG) of Police Asra Garg to investigate into the Karur Stampede which occurred on September 27 claiming the lives of 41 people

The matter was mentioned before Chief Justice of India BR Gavai for urgent listing who agreed to list the petition on Friday, when another related petition - challenging the High Court's refusal to transfer the investigation to the CBI - is also listed for hearing. TVK has sought an independent investigation under the monitoring of the Supreme Court. The party took objection to the Madras High Court constituting a SIT only with officers of Tamil Nadu police.

Critical remarks made by the Madras High Court against TVK and Vijay that they abandoned the place after the incident and did not express any remorse have also been challenged.

The High Court had objected to the conduct of Vijay, the organisers of the event and the members of the political party for fleeing from the scene of occurrence immediately after the mishap. "While this Court is aware that the political party has not been arrayed as a respondent, it is important to point out that it is incumbent upon such a party to have taken immediate steps to rescue and assist individuals caught in the stampede like situation arising from the massive crowd in which many children, women, and several young person tragically lost their lives", it had said.

High court had further noted that there is no communication in any form or in any manner regretting the incident. This omission reflects the political party's disregard for human life and public accountability."

Notably, yesterday Supreme Court agreed to hear on October 10 a plea challenging the Madras High Court’s order refusing a CBI probe into the Karur stampede that occurred during actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) founder Vijay’s political rally on September 27, which left 41 people dead and over 60 injured.

A bench of Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran took note of an appeal filed by BJP leader Uma Anandan, who sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the tragic incident.

“A plea for a CBI probe has been dismissed whereas a single judge has observed that he is not satisfied with the probe conducted (into the stampede),” the counsel for the petitioner had submitted.

Earlier, on October 3, the Madras High Court had formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by senior IPS officer and IG (North Zone) Asra Garg to probe the incident.

The Court, while dismissing the plea for a CBI investigation, had directed the petitioner to approach the Madurai bench and criticised the organisers, including Vijay’s TVK leadership and the police, for lapses in managing the crowd. The High Court had observed that the rally, expected to draw around 10,000 people, witnessed an unexpected turnout of over 27,000. Police reports also attributed the chaos to a seven-hour delay in Vijay’s arrival at the venue.

Case Title: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam vs. PH Dinesh