"Something Wrong Happening": Supreme Court Seeks Reply From Madras High Court

The Supreme Court has sought a reply from the Madras High Court on the rules being followed in the listing and hearing of cases, observing that "something wrong" is happening there. A bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi made the observation while hearing the Karur stampede case, taking note of a report sent by the Registrar General of the Madras High Court.

Issuing a notice and making the Registrar of Madras High Court a party in the case linked to superstar Vijay's TVK party, the top court said that it will look into the rules being followed in the high court.

"Something wrong is happening in the High Court. We need to see...," Justice JK Maheshwari observed.

Earlier, while hearing the TVK's petition challenging the Madras High Court's order for a probe by a Special Investigation Team, the Supreme Court had flagged "impropriety" on the part of the Chennai bench.

The top court had taken a strong exception to the order directing an SIT probe when the petition was just seeking guidelines to hold roadshows. This order was also in conflict with an earlier order passed by the Madurai bench of the high court refusing a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

The top court had previously questioned the propriety of the Madras High Court passing two seemingly conflicting orders over the Karur stampede in Tamil Nadu and sought a detailed report from the high court on why this was allowed to happen.

While the Madurai bench rejected a plea for a CBI probe in the stampede, the Chennai bench had directed a probe by an SIT.

The Tamil Nadu government's application against the Supreme Court's October 13 interim order directing a CBI probe into the Karur stampede is posted for later.

The stampede had left 41 dead and over 60 injured during a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) rally on September 27.

Senior Advocate NK Kaul, representing the Tamil Nadu government, said that the state has filed a counter affidavit and it needed a hearing.

Justice JK Maheshwari's bench, however, said that today they are issuing a notice on how matters are heard in the Madras High Court and impleading the High Court Registrar.

The state government has also urged the removal of the Supreme Court's stay on a single-member commission comprising retired Madras High Court judge Aruna Jagadeesan to investigate the matter. The government said the commission should be allowed to continue to function, which will ensure no such stampede occurs in the future.

The top court held it for later, saying that it needed to understand first what the commission will do.