The Madras High Court will today hear seven petitions related to the Karur stampede tragedy that claimed 41 lives - including several women and children - exactly a month ago during a rally organised by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK).
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G Arul Murugan will take up the cases, which include a public interest litigation seeking the framing of a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for conducting political rallies in Tamil Nadu. The court will also hear anticipatory bail pleas filed by TVK's second-in-command Bussy Anand and Deputy General Secretary Nirmal Kumar - both of whose names figure in the FIR registered in connection with the tragedy.
Among the petitions is one filed by TVK leader Aadhav Arjuna, who has sought to quash the FIR registered against him for a controversial social media post. Police have termed the post "inflammatory," alleging it suggested a youth-led revolution akin to those seen in Nepal and Sri Lanka. Aadhav has denied the charges, claiming the post - which he later deleted - was misinterpreted.
The hearings come in the backdrop of the Supreme Court's direction ordering a CBI probe into the Karur tragedy. The top court has constituted a three-member committee headed by a retired Supreme Court judge to monitor the investigation.
The developments coincide with TVK chief and actor Vijay meeting the families of the stampede victims at a hotel in Mamallapuram, near Chennai.
Police had earlier attributed the stampede to a delay in the arrival of Vijay, which they said led to a surge in the crowd and several safety violations. The TVK, however, denied the allegations, alleging that the tragedy was part of a political conspiracy by the ruling DMK - a charge the party has strongly refuted.
