Karur Stampede: SC Refuses To Alter Order Suspending TN’s Stampede Probes

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected the Tamil Nadu government's plea to modify its order suspending both the one-man enquiry commission and the SIT probing the Karur stampede, in which 41 people died, stating, "We want everything to be fair and impartial."

A bench of justices JK Maheswari and Vijay Bishnoi also expressed concern over the report submitted by the Madras High Court’s registrar general, remarking, "There is something wrong going on in the high court. This is not a right thing that is happening in the high court."

On October 13, the top court had ordered a CBI investigation into the Karur stampede that occurred during a rally of actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) on September 27, observing that the incident had shaken the national conscience and warranted an impartial probe. Acting on TVK’s plea for an independent investigation, the court constituted a three-member supervisory committee led by former Supreme Court judge Ajay Rastogi to oversee the CBI’s work, while staying directions for forming an SIT and a one-man commission.

The court had earlier criticised Justice N Senthilkumar of the Madras High Court for entertaining petitions related to the incident, directing an SIT probe, and making observations against TVK and its members without hearing them. During Friday’s hearing, senior advocate P Wilson, representing the Tamil Nadu government, said the state’s commission would not interfere with the CBI enquiry and would merely recommend measures to prevent such incidents. The bench, however, asked him to read the notification establishing the commission and reiterated, "We want everything to be fair and impartial."

The bench neither issued notice on the state’s plea nor vacated its October 13 interim order. Justice Maheswari noted that the registrar general had filed a report and stated, "There is something wrong going in the high court. This is not a right thing that is happening in the high court. We have seen the registrar general's report. We will deal with it." The judges said they had reviewed the report detailing how a writ petition seeking SOPs for rallies was registered as a criminal writ petition.

Wilson and senior advocate Siddharth Luthra sought a copy of the registrar general’s report to file a response. The court issued notice on a fresh petition by KK Ramesh concerning the stampede and directed the parties to complete pleadings before the final hearing.

On October 30, the Supreme Court asked the family of a stampede victim to approach the CBI with allegations of threats from officials. "It is contended that the petitioner has been threatened and cajoled by the officials of the State… the petitioner may apply to the Central Bureau of Investigation," the bench had said, adding that no further orders were needed at that stage.

Reiterating the seriousness of the incident, the court had observed that the stampede had left a deep imprint nationwide, with significant implications for citizens’ rights and for families who lost their loved ones. It also highlighted the political undertone of the case and criticised comments made by senior police officers to the media "without having regard to the gravity of the incident," which could undermine public confidence in the investigation’s fairness.

Police have said the rally drew around 27,000 people—nearly triple the expected turnout of 10,000—and attributed the tragedy in part to a seven-hour delay in Vijay’s arrival at the venue.

(with PTI inputs)