NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday observed, “there is something wrong going on in the high court,” as it rejected the Tamil Nadu government’s plea to modify its earlier order suspending a one-man inquiry commission and the SIT probe into the Karur stampede, which claimed 41 lives. The bench of Justices JK Maheswari and Vijay Bishnoi emphasized, “We want everything to be fair and impartial.”During the hearing, senior advocate P Wilson, representing the government, said that the state commission would not interfere with the CBI investigation and would only make recommendations to prevent such incidents. The bench then asked Wilson to read the notification appointing the commission and reiterated, “We want everything to be fair and impartial.”The court reviewed a report filed by the registrar general of the Madras High Court, which highlighted how a writ petition seeking SOPs for rallies was registered as a criminal writ petition. “There is something wrong going on in the high court. This is not a right thing that is happening in the high court,” said the bench.Wilson and senior advocate Siddharth Luthra requested a copy of the report, stating they wished to file a reply.The Karur stampede occurred on September 27 during a rally of actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). Police had earlier stated that the rally saw a turnout of 27,000 people, nearly three times the expected 10,000, and attributed the tragedy to a seven-hour delay by Vijay in reaching the venue.On October 13, the Supreme Court had ordered a CBI investigation into the incident, noting that the tragedy “has shaken the national conscience and deserves a fair and impartial investigation.” In the same order, the court had suspended the state’s directions for appointing a SIT and a one-man inquiry commission and set up a three-member supervisory committee, headed by former apex court judge Ajay Rastogi, to monitor the CBI probe.The top court had also criticized Justice N Senthilkumar of the Madras High Court for entertaining petitions related to the incident, ordering an SIT probe, and making observations against TVK and its members without making them parties to the case.Earlier, on October 30, the court had advised a victim’s family to approach the CBI with allegations that they had been threatened by officials, stating, “Except to say the same, at present, no further orders are required to be passed on the interlocutory applications.”Noting the political undertone of the case, the court said that comments made to the media by top police officers, “without having regard to the gravity of the incident,” could create doubts about impartiality and the fairness of the investigation.
