The man-made disaster was so huge: Judge

By MSV On Oct 4, 2025

The Madras High Court ordered the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) headed by Inspector General of Police Asra Garg to probe into the stampede that led to the loss of 41 lives during a political campaign by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president and actor C. Joseph Vijay in Karur last month.

Justice Senthilkumar also recorded that the court “highly condemns” the act of the TVK leaders in having “abandoned” the innocent people who had thronged the venue at Velusamypuram in Karur district just to take a glimpse of Mr. Vijay, but ended up losing their lives. He said, the party ought to have come to their rescue.

The judge directed Karur Town Inspector of Police to hand over to the SIT all papers related to a First Information Report (FIR) registered against TVK general secretary Bussy Anand alias N. Anand and deputy general secretary C.T.R. Nirmal Kumar on the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

The orders were passed after expressing dissatisfaction over the probe conducted by the local police and after observing that the State appeared to be going soft on the TVK leaders and “showing leniency” despite the latter having “fled from the scene of occurrence” after the death of scores of children and women.

The judge said, the man-made disaster was so huge that even President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin and many others expressed deep condolences and extended every possible help to the families of the deceased and also to the injured.

Nevertheless, the Karur police had suo motu registered just one FIR regarding the death of 41 people and arrested only two lower-level office bearers of TVK so far. He also took note of the complaint made by senior counsel G. Sankaran, representing a litigant, that Mr. Vijay had not been named even in that FIR.

Recording the court’s condemnation, the judge also lamented the party leadership had not expressed any remorse even after the huge tragedy, the judge said, “it shows their mental state.”

Equally disheartened by the State’s failure to take stern action against the organisers, the judge wrote: “The court, however, cannot close its eyes. The court cannot be a mute spectator. The court cannot shirk its responsibilities. The entire world has witnessed the sequences as well as consequences of the event.”

He recorded the submissions made by State Public Prosecutor Hasan Mohamed Jinnah and Additional Advocate General J. Ravindran that the police had granted permission for the campaign at Velusamypuram only between 3 pm and 10 pm on September 27 but the TVK leadership announced that Mr. Vijay would come by 12 noon itself.

Mr. Jinnah told the judge that Mr. Anand had given a press briefing stating that Mr. Vijay would reach Karur by 12 noon and that TVK’s official X handle too had tweeted the same. Believing it to be true, people started gathering at the venue since morning but the actor arrived only past 7 p.m., the SPP said.

After recording their submissions, the judge felt that only a SIT probe would help in prosecuting all those who were responsible for the mishap and bring them to book in order to do complete justice to the loss of 41 innocent lives.