Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), Chief and Actor C. Joseph Vijay has moved the Supreme Court seeking an independent investigation led by a former Supreme Court judge into the September 27 stampede at Karur, which claimed 41 lives and left several others injured.
The petition challenges the Madras High Court’s October 3 order constituting a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Inspector-General of Police Asra Garg to carry out an inquiry into the tragedy. Filed through TVK’s secretary Aadhav Arjuna, the petition was mentioned before Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai for urgent listing.
The CJI agreed to list the matter for hearing on Friday (October 10). On the same day, the court is also scheduled to hear a separate appeal challenging the Madurai Bench of the High Court’s refusal to transfer the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
In its plea, TVK points out that the High Court itself had expressed reservations about the impartiality of the State police, yet directed the formation of an SIT comprising only senior officers of the Tamil Nadu police. “The petitioner-party as well as its leaders are prejudiced by the order which appoints an SIT composed solely of officers of the State Police, especially in the face of the observations of the Hon’ble High Court expressing its dissatisfaction with the independence of State Police and its conduct, and prejudicial factual findings against the petitioner,” the petition states.
The party alleged the possibility of “a pre-planned conspiracy” by miscreants behind the stampede, and argued that a probe by the State police would not be impartial and therefore, an “independent probe where contesting points of fact can be placed” is essential.
TVK also took objection to critical observations made by the High Court against the party and its office-bearers, claiming these were issued “in violation of the principles of natural justice and fair trial” and that they were “strong and unverified.”
On October 3, Justice N. Senthilkumar, while ordering the SIT probe, had castigated the actor-politician and his party for their conduct after the tragedy, observing that they had “fled from the scene” and “abandoned” innocent people who had thronged the venue at Velusamypuram in Karur district just to take a glimpse of Mr Vijay. The single-judge’s order came hours after a two-judge Bench of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court dismissed a batch of petitions, including one filed by BJP’s Uma Anandan, seeking a CBI probe.
According to State police data, nearly 27,000 people had gathered at the rally site, almost three times the expected turnout of 10,000. The event, held at Velusamypuram on the Karur–Erode Highway, descended into chaos around 8 p.m. when the crowd surged forward and broke past barricades as Mr Vijay took the stage after a delay of over seven hours.
Most of the victims were women and children who had travelled from across western Tamil Nadu to see the popular actor. Following the incident, the police booked several TVK functionaries, excluding Mr. Vijay, on charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal negligence, and misrepresentation of crowd strength.
