The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has strongly criticized Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leaders in connection with the Karur stampede, which claimed 41 lives, noting that party chief Vijay “fled from the scene of occurrence” and that the party had not expressed any remorse. The court condemned the conduct, particularly given that women and children were among the victims.
The bench observed that this reflected the “mental state” of the actor-politician. Justice Senthilkumar remarked that the stampede had been mishandled and expressed concern over what he described as the state showing leniency towards Vijay.
Questioning both the organisers and the police, Justice Senthilkumar asked, “As an event organiser, don’t you have any responsibility?” The court expressed anguish over the perceived leniency towards Vijay and noted that he “vanished” from the spot when the incident occurred.
The court directed the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by senior IPS officer Asra Garg to probe the incident, while reserving orders on the anticipatory bail petitions filed by TVK leaders Bussy Anand and CTR Nirmal Kumar.
During the anticipatory bail hearing, the state argued that the stampede had been triggered by the conduct of the party’s own cadre and that the leaders had behaved irresponsibly.
The bench highlighted the gravity of the incident, saying that a massive man-made disaster had caused the death of 41 innocent people, adding that the court could not “close its eyes”, be a “mute spectator” or “shirk its responsibilities.”
Referring to video footage, the bench noted, “Two-wheelers were caught under a TVK bus, yet the driver did not stop despite witnessing it. Is it not a case of hit and run?” They further questioned the police, asking, “Why was a case of hit and run not registered? Why have the police failed to take cognisance of it?”
The court also raised concerns over a controversial post by party leader Aadhav Arjuna, asking sharply, “Is Aadhav Arjuna above the law? Will you take action only if the Court directs?” Action against Aadhav Arjuna has now been directed.
Simultaneously, the court is considering a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking to restrain the Home Secretary and the Director General of Police from granting permission for road shows until comprehensive guidelines or standard operating procedures (SOPs) are put in place.
Senior counsel V Raghavachari, representing Bussy Anand and CTR Nirmal Kumar, argued that the petitioners had no intention of harming their own cadres and that the incident could not be treated as culpable homicide. He accused the police of failing to provide adequate protection, noting that the venue was not chosen by the petitioners. “If Velusamypuram was objectionable, the police ought to have rejected the petitioners’ request,” he said, adding that the crowd went out of control only after a lathi charge and questioning its necessity.
Raghavachari maintained that the petitioners had complied with regulations and pointed out that permission for the event had been granted only a day before. “The responsibility of managing the crowd lies entirely with the State,” he said, insisting that the gathering was orderly until police intervention. He further alleged that chemicals had been thrown at the crowd, causing people to faint. The counsel stressed that the official organiser and TVK district secretary, Mathiyazhagan, had already been arrested, and maintained that Anand and Nirmal Kumar bore no responsibility.
Additional Advocate General J Ravindran countered that TVK had misled the crowd by tweeting that the event would begin at 12 noon, although police permission was granted for 3 pm to 7 pm. He added that 559 police personnel had been deployed for the TVK rally, in contrast to 137 personnel for AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palanisamy’s campaign at the same venue days earlier.
(With inputs from India Today)
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