Why is SC’s interim order for CBI inquiry into Karur stampede a setback for the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu?

The Supreme Court on Monday ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the Karur stampede, in Tamil Nadu, which killed 41 people during a rally organised by actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). The court has also appointed former Supreme Court Judge Justice Ajay Rastogi to head a three-member committee, which will monitor the investigation into the Karur stampede.

A bench of Justices comprising Justice J.K. Maheshwari and N.V. Anjaria observed that “a fair and impartial investigation is the right of the citizens,” while transferring the probe to the CBI. The Supreme Court’s order came while hearing a batch of petitions filed by the TVK, which challenged the Madras High Court directive ordering a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under IPS officer Asra Garg to probe into the incident.

While the Supreme Court thinks that a fair investigation is the right of the citizens, the interim order has come in the wake of two of the family members coming out and saying that they were not aware of the petitions filed in their name. While the court said that this can also be represented to the three-member committee, the order seems to be a huge setback for the ruling DMK.

The DMK government, which had already lost its face, politically, in the aftermath of the stampede, has now lost legally in the Supreme Court. Though the government machinery was in action to handle 39 cadavers, immediately after the deadly stampede and more than 110 people who were injured in the crowd crush, the opposition AIADMK and Vijay’s TVK maintained that the fatal accident was orchestrated by the DMK and former minister V. Senthil Balaji, DMK’s Karur strongman.

The DMK was not able to break this narrative among the people, as Vijay’s followers believed that the reason for the crowd crush was that there was not enough police force at the venue. The sympathy for Vijay has not gone down even after he chose to stay back indoors, and even after the government’s measures to distribute Rs. 10 lakh as compensation.

Apparently, Vijay’s party has been successful in moving the case out of the purview of the Tamil Nadu police. “ We believed in Justice. The Supreme Court, by transferring the case to the CBI, has ensured that there will be a fair investigation. The ruling DMK has been trying to crush us politically after the Karur stampede,” said Aadhav Arjuna, TVK general secretary (election campaign). Aadhav also alleged that the Tamil Nadu government and the DMK influenced the Madras High Court in constituting a SIT for investigation.

Though the CBI investigation will be supervised by a committee headed by a former Supreme Court judge and two IPS officers from Tamil Nadu, but not native of the state have turned out to be a serious concern for the state. The state government authorities, including the IAS and IPS officers who defended the government’s actions, post-stampede, will be summoned by the CBI authorities. Also, DMK’s former minister and Karur MLA Senthil Balaji, whose name is being dragged in by the TVK from day one, might also be summoned by the CBI authorities.

Again, the Supreme Court pulling up the Madras High Court for taking up the petition seeking SOP for public rallies as a criminal investigation petition has come as a huge embarrassment for the government as the opposition has been claiming that the DMK influenced the high court. “The fault line in the MHC order is the constitution of the SIT for a petition seeking SOP for political rallies. The state should have challenged this, as the single judge did not adhere to the prayer. And the other issue is that the MHC doesn’t have the jurisdiction to entertain the petition. The petition should have been transferred to the Madurai Bench,” says a senior advocate at the Madras High Court.

While the Karur stampede had already turned out to be a political setback for the DMK, the Supreme Court’s interim order has turned out to be a huge legal setback. 

India