The Madras High Court has dismissed multiple pleas seeking a probe into the Karur stampede that occurred during Vijay's rally on September 27, on Friday including one filed by BJP leader Uma Anandan and another filed by Tamizhaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
Both Public Interest Litigations (PILs) sought to transfer the probe to the CBI. The vacation bench comprising justices M Dhandapani and M Jothiraman said that the PILs were not maintainable as the investigation is still in its early stage and said that the petitioners were not victims of the incident.
The court said, "If aggrieved persons come to this court, we will rescue. Who are you? Don’t treat this court as the political arena. If, in the investigation, something goes wrong, you can come back. This is the initial stage.”
The justices also issued an interim injunction against granting permission to political parties to hold public meetings in the state until Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) are formed.
The court ordered that the government and political parties should ensure that arrangements are made for drinking water and sanitation facilities whenever political rallies and meetings are held.
Meanwhile, Justice N Senthilkumar dismissed an anticipatory bail plea filed by TVK district secretary N Sathish Kumar. The Court then questioned the party’s failure to control the crowd and pointed out the unruly behaviour of the supporters.
On September 27, 41 people, including women and children, died after a stampede occurred at a political rally organised by the TVK party in Veluswamypuram, Karur, for party chief Vijay. The rally was organised for around 10,000 people, but around 25,000 showed up, exceeding the area’s limits. In the deadly crowd crush, many fainted due to the poor crowd control measures in the venue and the temperatures.
An FIR was filed by Karur police against several TVK functionaries, excluding Vijay, under charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, for failing to ensure the safety of the crowd.