Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, Dec 12: The Supreme Court on Friday raised serious concerns over “impropriety” in the manner a Madras High Court bench passed orders related to the Karur stampede case, observing that “something wrong” appeared to be happening in the High Court.
A bench comprising Justice J K Maheshwari and Justice Vijay Bishnoi made the remarks while going through a report submitted by the Registrar General of the Madras High Court. In an unexpected move, the apex court also impleaded the Registrar General as a party to the case and sought a response from the High Court regarding procedures followed in listing and hearing matters.
The top court was hearing a petition filed by TVK challenging the HC’s directive for a Special Investigation Team probe. During the hearing, Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra sought modification of the court’s earlier direction barring natives of Tamil Nadu from being part of the Supervisory Committee overseeing the CBI investigation.
However, the apex court refused to alter its earlier order. “We want everything to be fair,” Justice Maheshwari observed, declining to modify the instruction.
The tragic Karur stampede occurred during a TVK rally on September 27, claiming 41 lives and leaving over 60 injured.
In its counter affidavit, the Tamil Nadu government sought to vacate the Supreme Court’s October 13 order transferring the probe to the CBI and halting the Justice (Retd.) Aruna Jagadeesan Commission of Inquiry. The state also urged removal of the words “non-native” from the order and asked for reconstitution of the Supervisory Committee.
Calling the Special Leave Petition “not maintainable and misconceived,” the TN government argued that the state police investigation was progressing properly and no bias had been proven.
In its October 13 directive, the Supreme Court handed the case to the CBI, stating that the incident, which “shook the national conscience,” required a fair and impartial probe. A three-member Supervisory Committee headed by former SC judge Justice Ajay Rastogi was also constituted, including two IPS officers of the Tamil Nadu cadre who are not TN natives.
The court instructed the CBI Director to immediately appoint a senior officer to lead the investigation and directed that all case files, evidence and digital records from the state police, SIT, and the enquiry commission be handed over without delay.
The apex court had also noted that public comments made by top police officials could cast doubts on the fairness of the investigation, stressing the need to restore public faith in the criminal justice system through a completely independent probe.