6 months ago
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The Madras High Court, connected Monday (October 27, 2025), directed Tamil Nadu authorities to framework wrong 10 days a draught Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the behaviour of governmental meetings and rallies successful the State successful bid to debar mishaps specified arsenic the Karur stampede which claimed 41 lives during actor-turned-politician C. Joseph Vijay’s governmental run connected September 27.
Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan told Additonal Advocate General J. Ravindran the draught SOP indispensable beryllium placed earlier the tribunal by November 11 failing which they would bid that applications seeking support for governmental meets indispensable beryllium made 10 days earlier the lawsuit and the constabulary indispensable dispose them astatine slightest 3 days successful advance.
The interim bid was passed connected a writ petition filed by Mr. Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), overmuch earlier the Karur tragedy, complaining astir the “onerous” conditions imposed by the constabulary for its run and a big of different petitions filed by antithetic individuals, aft the tragedy, insisting upon the framing of a SOP/guidelines to modulate the behaviour of governmental meetings and guarantee the information of the participants.
Senior counsel V. Raghavachari, representing TVK, told the Chief Justice’s Bench the State constabulary indispensable beryllium directed to assistance support for the governmental campaigns good successful beforehand truthful that the parties acrophobic could person capable clip to marque indispensable arrangements. He claimed the support for the September 27 Karur governmental run was granted conscionable a time earlier the event.
Vehemently denying the claim, the AAG told the tribunal that submissions were being made successful the aerial though determination were documents to beryllium their falsity. He said, TVK had primitively intended to behaviour its governmental run successful Karur lone successful December. Suddenly, determination were alteration successful plans, and an exertion was submitted connected September 25 for the behaviour of the lawsuit connected September 27, helium said.
Also View: A ocular timeline connected however Karur stampede unfolded
Not wanting to spell into the governmental thicket, the Chief Justice told the AAG that allegations would ever beryllium made lone against the enactment successful powerfulness and therefore, the State indispensable grip specified issues carefully. He said, each governmental enactment was obligated to marque applications for its meetings good successful beforehand and that the constabulary excessively indispensable instrumentality a determination connected those applications earlier a tenable play of time.
Since respective petitions had been filed successful the tribunal for formulation of a SOP, the Chief Justice initially decided to assistance conscionable a week’s clip to the State government. However, erstwhile the AAG said, aggregate entities specified arsenic the civic bodies, police, wellness and occurrence and rescue services departments would person to beryllium consulted, the archetypal Division Bench decided to assistance 10 days clip for coming up with the draft.
In the meantime, elder counsel Vijay Narayan, representing All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), told the Bench that helium represents the main absorption enactment successful the State and that it had filed an impleading petition connected Monday greeting for being included arsenic 1 of the respondents successful TVK’s case. He said, the enactment intends to springiness its suggestions connected regularisation of governmental meetings and rallies.
Since AIADMK’s impleading petition was yet to beryllium numbered and listed for hearing, the judges decided to instrumentality a telephone connected that petition arsenic and erstwhile it comes up earlier them during the people of the week. They besides closed a writ petition filed by BJP councillor Uma Anandan, seeking a CBI probe into the Karur stampede case, since the Supreme Court had already transferred the probe to the CBI.
‘Bussy’ Anand’s bail plea
They besides permitted TVK wide caput ‘Bussy’ Anand alias N. Anand to retreat his 2nd anticipatory bail petition successful a culpable homicide lawsuit booked against him and a fewer different enactment leaders pursuant to the Karur stampede.
Further, acceding to a petition made by elder counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi for a abbreviated walk over, the judges decided to perceive successful the day league a petition filed by TVK person Aadhav Arjuna to quash a First Information Report registered against him pursuant to his allegedly inflammatory tweet insinuating a revolt against the Tamil Nadu Government by the youngsters and Gen Z arsenic it had happened successful Sri Lanka and Nepal.
