The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a petition by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) tomorrow. The petition seeks to restrain Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, Minister Aadhav Arjun and other accused from making public statements about the Karur stampede and to control their interactions with the families of the victims during the investigation. CBI is currently investigating the case.
Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, on behalf of main opposition party DMK secretary RS Bharti, raised this issue before the bench of Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice Sheel Nagu. Noting the seriousness of the matter, Ahmadi said that Chief Minister Vijay is scheduled to meet the families of the victims of the Kurur accident on July 10, and expressed apprehension that this may influence witnesses.
attempt to influence witnesses
Expressing apprehension, Ahmadi said, “We have filed a petition. The matter is urgent. You had ordered a CBI investigation, and now when the investigation is going on, efforts are being made to influence the witnesses. I can prove it through records.”
He also said, “This case is related to the Karur stampede. You have also formed a monitoring committee. Meanwhile, since April, some of the accused – who have now become ministers in the current state government, are actively trying to influence the witnesses. So I have filed a petition, which can be proved from the records. It was filed on Friday last week. It is feared that it may be done on July 10.”
Petition before meeting CM Vijay
On this, Justice Amanullah asked, “After all, what order can be given in this regard?” At present, the bench has agreed to hear the case tomorrow, Tuesday. The petition refers to reports according to which Chief Minister Vijay is going to visit Karur around July 10, so that he can meet the families of the dead and injured and give them jobs and other benefits on government orders, compassionate grounds.
While making it clear in the petition that he has no objection to the state government giving ex-gratia or welfare assistance, the DMK leader argued that the families of the victims are also important witnesses in the CBI investigation. The petition said that direct interaction with such witnesses by people associated with the investigation or members of the political executive may give rise to reasonable apprehension about the impartiality of the investigation.
Vijay has already given compensation
The petition also pointed out that Vijay had already given Rs 20 lakh to the families of the deceased and Rs 2 lakh each to the injured victims in October 2025 last year, when criminal proceedings were underway regarding the stampede. It has been argued that in view of the offer of government benefits after assuming office and the public statements of the accused minister, there is a need to maintain judicial security to maintain the impartiality of the investigation.
On September 27 last year, a sudden stampede broke out during the public relations rally of ‘Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam’ (TVK) in Karur. 41 people died and more than 140 people were injured in the accident.
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