Madras High Court Issues Notice on Petition to Include Actor Vijay as Accused in Karur Stampede Case

Chennai: The Madras High Court has issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Tamil Nadu government, and the state police chief regarding a Public Interest Litigation that seeks to include actor-politician Vijay, who heads Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), as an accused in the Karur stampede case FIR.

The petition additionally requests a prohibition on children's participation in political rallies and calls for the development of standard operating procedures for political gatherings.

Chief Justice MM Srivastava and Justice G Arulmurugan instructed that this petition be consolidated with similar petitions seeking guidelines for political roadshows. The Bench stated that all related petitions would be heard together by a special division to be formed based on Supreme Court directives following the Karur incident.

The Election Commission clarified to the court that Vijay's TVK is not recognized as a political party under the Representation of the People Act, making the request to derecognize the party irrelevant.

Madurai-based advocate C Selvakumar filed the petition seeking directions for Karur Town Police to apply more severe penal sections against Vijay and event organizers, including IPC Sections 304A, 336-338, Sections 75 and 83 of the Juvenile Justice Act, and Section 3 of the Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act.

The petitioner alleges that police deliberately omitted Vijay's name and applied milder charges that would enable the accused to "escape the clutches of law."

The petition also seeks to restrain the Tamil Nadu Director General of Police from permitting any political rallies until the case is resolved and urges the Election Commission to enforce prohibitions on using women and minors in political events, referencing the Bombay High Court's 2014 ruling in Chetan Ramlal Bhutada vs State of Maharashtra.

The petitioner attributes the tragedy to "negligence and mismanagement" by Vijay and his organizers, citing a seven-hour delay, inadequate provisions of food, water, and toilets, and alleged violations of police instructions. The plea also demands Rs 1 crore compensation for each victim, to be recovered from the political leadership.

The devastating stampede on September 27 in Karur claimed 41 lives, including nine children and several women.

Two TVK district secretaries, including Mathiyazhagan, have already been arrested in connection with the incident.

The Supreme Court has ordered a CBI investigation monitored by a retired judge, and the agency's team has arrived in Karur to take over the case.

While police attribute the tragedy to Vijay's delayed arrival, violations, and lack of provisions for the crowd, TVK has denied all allegations, instead blaming police failure and suggesting a politically motivated conspiracy by the ruling DMK—an accusation firmly rejected by the government.