Justice Senthilkumar also pointed out that the event, originally planned for December, was suddenly advanced to September.
Published Oct 03, 2025 | 5:10 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 03, 2025 | 5:33 PM
TVK chief Vijay is caught in the Karur stampede storm. Credit: x.com/TVKHQITWingOffl, Wikimedia Commons
Synopsis: Madras High Court, on Thursday, condemned police and TVK’s inaction after the Karur stampede, calling it a “man-made disaster”. Questioning delayed FIRs and leniency, he ordered an SIT probe and legal action against TVK’s Aadhav Arjuna for inflammatory posts. The court stressed equal accountability and stricter crowd management for political events.
“The police allowed everything to happen. You cannot turn a blind eye,” remarked Madras High Court’s Justice Senthilkumar on Thursday, 3 October, while hearing a petition seeking guidelines for regulating political roadshows and public meetings in Tamil Nadu to prevent tragedies like the Karur stampede.
The case was filed by PH Dinesh of Villivakkam, Chennai.
Justice N Senthilkumar expressed his condolences for the Karur tragedy victims and said the videos of the incident were painful to watch. The judge questioned why only two arrests were made so far and also inquired about the further course of action.
The judge noted that both the Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition had visited the stampede scene.
Senthilkumar referred to videos showing the campaign bus carrying actor-politician Vijay allegedly bumping into people and asked whether an FIR had been filed in connection with the incident.
“What prevents the police from registering a case? Even without a complaint, an FIR should have been registered,” the judge said. He also asked why a hit-and-run case was not registered.
“The driver of the bus is visible, yet no action has been taken. Shouldn’t the campaign vehicle have been seized? The court cannot remain silent as a spectator,” Justice Senthilkumar remarked, questioning whether undue leniency was being shown to the event organisers.
Additional Advocate General J Ravindran, representing the state, argued that TVK was allotted the venue it requested, with 11 conditions imposed. The same location had earlier been used for a campaign by Opposition leader Edappadi K Palaniswami.
For the TVK event, 559 police personnel had been deployed. He added that while permission was granted for campaigning between 3 pm and 10 pm, TVK’s official social media had called people to gather at 12 noon. He also pointed out that the event, originally planned for December, was suddenly advanced to September.
Justice Senthilkumar said that under the law all are equal and the government cannot remain silent. Calling the Karur incident a “man-made disaster”, he said: “The court cannot close its eyes and watch silently. The whole world has witnessed this tragedy. The organisers, the leader, everyone abandoned the spot, leaving behind their workers and supporters. This shows a complete lack of leadership. People and children should have been rescued. Instead, the party showed no remorse. The court strongly condemns TVK for this irresponsible conduct.”
The judge ordered for the constitution of an SIT headed by Asra Garg, IG (North), to probe the incident. The Karur police were directed to immediately hand over all case files and documents to the SIT.
The court also took note of social media posts by Aadhav Arjuna, which it said could trigger unrest.
“A single word can cause a big problem. Are these people above the law? You cannot wait for orders from the court. The police must act with responsibility,” the judge said.
He directed the police to probe the background of such posts, treat them seriously, and initiate all legal proceedings against those responsible.
Concluding the hearing, Justice Senthilkumar ordered the case records to be transferred to the SIT and directed legal action against Aadhav Arjuna for his remarks.
(With inputs from Subash Chandra Bose. Edited by Amit Vasudev)
