The Supreme Court on Friday reserved its order on a batch of petitions, including one filed by Tamil actor Vijay’s political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), challenging the Madras High Court’s directive to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the Karur stampede that claimed 41 lives on September 27.
A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and N V Anjaria heard arguments from senior advocates representing the political party, victims, the Tamil Nadu government and other stakeholders before reserving its verdict.
Earlier this week, a bench led by Chief Justice B R Gavai agreed to hear a plea by BJP leader Uma Anandan, who has challenged the Madras High Court’s refusal to order a CBI investigation into the incident. BJP leader G S Mani has also approached the Supreme Court seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
TVK has urged the court to order an independent investigation under the supervision of the Supreme Court, arguing that a fair and impartial probe would not be possible if the investigation were left entirely to officers of the Tamil Nadu Police. The party has objected to the High Court’s decision to form an SIT composed solely of state police officers.
The party’s plea has alleged that the stampede may have been the result of a pre-planned conspiracy by certain miscreants. It has also taken exception to what it described as “scathing” remarks by the High Court, which had criticised the party and Vijay for allegedly abandoning the venue after the incident and failing to show remorse.
The tragedy occurred during a rally organised by TVK in Karur, Tamil Nadu. According to the police, the event saw an unexpectedly large turnout of around 27,000 people—nearly three times the anticipated 10,000 participants. Authorities have attributed the chaos in part to a seven-hour delay in Vijay’s arrival at the venue, which, they said, contributed to the deadly stampede.
