The Madras High Court on Friday reportedly ordered a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the September 27 stampede at a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) rally in Karur, where 41 persons died and many others were injured.
According to reports, Justice N Senthilkumar passed the order while hearing a petition which questioned why Vijay was not named in the criminal case registered in the wake of the stampede.
The Court, reportedly, also cricitised the party's leadership for how it has handled the incident so far.
Interestingly, a Division Bench of the High Court's seat at Madurai had earlier today refused to order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the matter, after noting that the State's investigation into the case was at a nascent stage.
A Bench of Justices M Dhandapani and M Jothiraman noted that the investigation by the Tamil Nadu Police is currently at its initial stages and pointed out that the petitioners seeking the CBI inquiry were not the victims of the stampede.
The Bench delivered a sharp reprimand to the petitioners, asserting: “If aggrieved persons come to this court, we will rescue. Who are you? Don't treat this court as the political arena.” The judges maintained that intervention was premature, adding: “If, in the investigation, something goes wrong, you come. This is the initial stage.”
The Court acknowledged and placed on record the State government’s submission that it will not permit any rallies or meetings near state or national highways until appropriate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are formally established.
Furthermore, the Bench issued a directive requiring the government and all political parties to ensure that appropriate arrangements are made for drinking water and sanitation facilities whenever political rallies or meetings are held, even at designated locations.
The Bench of the High Court issued these orders while hearing over a dozen petitions filed in the aftermath of the stampede.
These petitions broadly fell into three categories: seeking a CBI inquiry, demanding the framing of SOPs for all public meetings, and calling for enhanced compensation for the victims.
The stampede occurred on September 27, 2025 at a rally organised by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam party in Veluswamypuram, Karur district, while Vijay was campaigning. Although the rally was, reportedly, permitted for around 10,000 people, the turnout exceeded this limit, with estimates ranging from 25,000 to 60,000 attendees.
Reports indicate that many people arrived early, and were waiting for hours under the Sun without sufficient water or any facilities. The situation was exacerbated by narrow roads, electricity issues, poor crowd management and escape paths were blocked by ropes, barricades and hoardings.
Following the devastating event, an FIR was filed against several TVK functionaries (though not Vijay himself) on charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, for their failure to guarantee public safety and for allegedly misrepresenting the expected crowd size and venue arrangements.
Also read: TVK's Vijay in secret deal with Amit Shah: TN Speaker
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