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The Supreme Court on Monday, October 13, ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the Karur stampede in Tamil Nadu, which claimed 41 lives during a rally organised by actor Vijay’s political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). The court also appointed former Supreme Court judge Justice Ajay Rastogi to head a three-member committee that will monitor the progress of the investigation.
A Bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and NV Anjaria observed that “there can be no doubt that a fair and impartial investigation is the right of the citizens” while transferring the probe to the CBI. The bench also directed the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to oversee the CBI’s work and ensure transparency. The SIT, led by Justice Rastogi, will include two senior IPS officers to supervise the investigation’s progress and report to the Court periodically.
The order came while hearing a plea filed by TVK, which had challenged the Madras High Court’s earlier directive ordering a Special Investigation Team probe into the incident. According to LiveLaw, the Supreme Court questioned the manner in which the High Court had passed its order, noting that the petition before it originally sought a Standard Operating Procedure for political rallies rather than a criminal investigation. The bench also observed that the High Court’s principal bench in Chennai had issued directions even though Karur falls under the jurisdiction of the Madurai bench.
The report added that during the hearing, the Court asked why TVK had been granted permission to hold the rally in an area where another political party, the AIADMK, had been denied approval citing the narrowness of the venue. The judges further sought clarification on how post-mortem examinations of nearly 40 bodies were carried out at midnight and why cremations took place as early as 4 am.