New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered a CBI probe into the Karur stampede in which 41 people were killed and appointed former apex court judge Ajay Rastogi as head of a committee to monitor it.
A bench, comprising Justices J K Maheshwari and N V Anjaria, also criticized Justice N Senthilkumar of the Madras High Court for entertaining petitions on the September 27 stampede at actor Vijay’s rally and ordering an SIT probe.
“There was no occasion for the single judge of the main seat to entertain the petitions without orders of the chief justice when petitions seeking a probe into the incident were pending before the Madurai bench,” the bench said.
The top court on October 10 had reserved its order on a plea filed by Tamil actor Vijay’s political party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, and others.
On Tuesday, the CJI-headed bench agreed to hear BJP leader Uma Anandan’s plea challenging the high court order refusing a CBI probe into the September 27 stampede.
BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, G S Mani, has also filed a petition seeking a CBI probe into the stampede.
The TVK has sought an independent investigation under the supervision of the Supreme Court, contending that a fair and impartial probe would not be possible if conducted solely by officers of the Tamil Nadu Police.
The TVK’s plea has objected to the high court constituting a special investigation team (SIT) only with officers of the Tamil Nadu Police. It alleged the possibility of a pre-planned conspiracy by some miscreants that led to the stampede.
The plea also took exception to the scathing remarks of the high court against the party and the actor-politician that they abandoned the place after the incident and did not express any remorse.
Earlier, the police said the rally saw a turnout of 27,000, nearly three times the expected 10,000 participants, and blamed a seven-hour delay by Vijay in reaching the venue for the tragedy.
