Chennai: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered the transfer of the probe into the Karur rally stampede in Tamil Nadu to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and appointed a three-member supervisory committee led by retired Supreme Court Justice Ajay Rastogi.
The stampede, which claimed 41 lives, took place in Karur on 27 September during a rally organised by actor-turned-politician Vijay’s party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), as part of its planned state-wide campaign ahead of the 2026 assembly elections.
A Supreme Court bench comprising Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Aniruddha J. Anjaria passed the interim order while hearing a batch of petitions filed by TVK and two individuals affected by the stampede, seeking an independent investigation into the incident.
The court observed that the incident deserved a fair and impartial probe, given that “the issue involved certainly has a bearing on the fundamental rights of the citizens” and that the incident had “shaken the national conscience”.
Accordingly, the court directed the Tamil Nadu Police, the Special Investigating Team (SIT), and the single-member inquiry commission to submit all documents and evidence to the CBI. It also ordered the suspension of the SIT constituted by the Madras High Court, as well as the state government-appointed commission.
The Supreme Court also criticised the Madras High Court’s handling of the matter, highlighting procedural lapses during hearings.
“It is not understandable to us, particularly when prayers were [already] made for the transfer of investigation to the CBI and/or formation of SIT, and the division bench at Madurai was cognisant of the same and said that the investigation is at a nascent stage and no flaw in the police investigation has been brought—in stark contradiction, the learned single judge, while dealing with the matter of constituting a SIT, suo moto, without referring to any documents or assigning any reasons, recorded dissatisfaction with the progress and independence of the investigation,” the order stated.
The court further noted that its decision took into account “the political undertone of the case” and that some public comments by top state police officials “may create doubt in the minds of the citizenry on impartiality and fair investigation”.
Restoring public faith and trust in the investigation, the Supreme Court said, was essential.
“One way to instil such trust is by ensuring that the investigation in the present case is completely impartial, independent, and unbiased,” its order read.
The supervisory committee, led by Justice Rastogi, will include two senior IPS officers, preferably from Tamil Nadu, but not native to the state. The panel will have the authority to monitor the CBI’s progress and may approach the Supreme Court at any stage, if necessary. The CBI is required to submit monthly progress reports to the committee.
‘Who filed plea?’ ask stampede victim-petitioners
According to petitioners Selvaraj and Panneerselvam Pitchaimuthu, they were misled or manipulated into signing the plea in the Supreme Court and never intended to do that.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi and senior advocate and DMK MP P. Wilson—who represented the state of Tamil Nadu—submitted that the two petitioners did not want to file the plea.
The Tamil Nadu legal team informed the Supreme Court that the petitioners were disowning the petition they had not knowingly filed, P. Wilson later told reporters in Delhi.
Casting doubt on the legitimacy of the petition that led to the order transferring the case to the CBI, P. Wilson said, “According to the legal principle, fraud vitiates everything; any judgment obtained by fraudulent means stands null and void”.
“If the court finds that the order was obtained by way of deceit, it can set aside that order. Criminal cases may also be filed against those who engaged in such fraudulent conduct,” Wilson added.
In Karur district, Selvaraj, one of the petitioners, told reporters about being made to sign the petition on the promise of financial benefits from the state government.
“I am unaware of the case filed before the Supreme Court. I do not want to engage in any case, and I do not know who has filed this case on my behalf,” Selvaraj told reporters in Karur.
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Police invited us to the Karur border, says TVK
After the court order, Aadhav Arjuna, the TVK general secretary of elections, told the media that the police had invited the party to hold its poll campaign at the border of the Karur district. So, the stampede was not the fault of the party, Aadhav emphasised.
“We have been silent all these days to get justice. Now, it is time for us to speak. It was the Karur police who invited us to the border of the Karur district and took us to the designated venue,” Aadhav Arjuna told the reporters in Delhi.
“If they had known that the situation was unfavourable for a campaign, they might have asked us to call it off, as the police in Perambalur did during the previous campaign.”
Responding to the allegation that second-rung leaders of TVK were not on the ground to help stampede victims, Aadhav told reporters that the police had directed them to leave Karur district.
“I, deputy general secretary Nirmal Kumar, and propaganda general secretary Arunraj were all waiting at the Karur border. But it was the police who asked us to leave the district, as it might lead to a riot-like situation. There was no need for us to abscond, and the police could very well have tracked our locations through GPS,” Aadhav further said.
The interim order, he added, was a victory for TVK.
“During further hearings, we will present our case on why we suspect that there is a conspiracy behind the Karur stampede. The interim order transferring the case to CBI is a victory for TVK,” he told reporters.
However, DMK MP Wilson said that TVK can not claim the order as its victory.
“Their(TVK) petition never sought a CBI probe, and their lawyers argued against it in court. Therefore, calling this a victory is misleading,” Wilson said.
It was only an interim order and not a final judgment, Wilson further said.
“The Supreme Court directed the SIT investigation, already underway, to be transferred to the CBI. This transfer does not mean that the SIT’s investigation was wrong or invalid. If the court wishes, it can order a fresh probe from the beginning, but as of now, it has merely directed a transfer,” Wilson said.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)
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