SC Agrees to Urgently Hear Plea for CBI Probe into Karur Stampede

NEW DELHI:
The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear, on October 10, a plea challenging the Madras High Court’s order refusing a CBI probe into the Karur stampede — a deadly incident at actor-politician Vijay’s TVK rally that claimed 41 lives and left more than 100 injured.

The tragedy, one of the worst crowd-control failures in Tamil Nadu in recent years, had sent shockwaves across the country and raised serious questions about public safety at political events.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai agreed to list the plea filed by BJP leader Uma Anandan for a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), after the matter was mentioned for urgent hearing.

Earlier, the Madras High Court had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under IPS officer Asra Garg to probe the tragic incident, while refusing to proceed further on a petition seeking a CBI investigation.

In a hearing held on October 3, a Bench of Justices M. Dhandapani and M. Jothiraman suggested implementing strict Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for political rallies, following the Tamil Nadu government’s proposal to frame such guidelines for rallies or meetings, including a ban on events near state or national highways.

The Madras High Court pulled up the TVK leaders and organisers of the rally over their failure to rescue the public and children, and for not taking responsibility for the incident.

“Whether they are leaders or party workers, after this incident, while the President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister, and all political parties expressed grief and engaged in rescue efforts, the organisers of the event — the party members — had completely walked away,” it had observed.

The Madras High Court has directed the SIT to conduct an impartial and time-bound investigation and submit periodic updates.

Meanwhile, the probe panel has begun recording statements from eyewitnesses, residents, and officials involved in organising the event. Legal experts believe the SIT’s findings will be pivotal in fixing accountability and preventing similar disasters in the future.