The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to entertain a petition filed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam seeking to restrain Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and other Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam leaders from making public comments regarding the Karur stampede incident. A Bench comprising Justice KV Viswanathan and Justice Alok Aradhe remarked that courts cannot be turned into political forums.
Court's Observations on Political Rivalry
During the hearing, the Bench questioned the DMK's counsel, senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, about the implications of the plea. Justice Viswanathan asked, "You want the Chief Minister's visit to be regulated by the Supreme Court and fix his itinerary? You want us to impose an injunction on his speech? The Chief Minister is not an accused in the FIRs registered. Today, to make this court a political forum...how is that possible?"
The Bench further advised the DMK to counter the statements of TVK leaders with their own speeches rather than seeking judicial intervention. "You counter their speech with your speech. How can a political rival implead themselves in a matter where the Supreme Court has transferred the matter to the CBI?" Justice Viswanathan remarked.
DMK's Withdrawal of Plea
After the Bench expressed its reluctance to entertain the plea, the DMK chose to withdraw it. The court ordered, "Heard Mr Ranjith Kumar for applicant. He seeks to withdraw this application to pursue such other remedies as may be applicable to the applicant. Dismissed as withdrawn on the above terms."
The Supreme Court had earlier agreed to hear the DMK's petition on July 7, which accused Tamil Nadu ministers and TVK leaders of actively influencing witnesses in the CBI probe into the Karur stampede that killed 41 people last year.
Background of the Plea
The DMK moved the Supreme Court on July 4 seeking a direction to restrain Chief Minister Vijay, state minister Aadhav Arjuna, and other TVK leaders from making public statements or levelling false accusations related to the stampede. The plea also sought to regulate their interaction with victims' families during the CBI probe. This came ahead of Chief Minister Vijay's scheduled visit to Karur on July 10 to distribute government orders, compassionate appointments, and other benefits to the families of the deceased and injured.
While the DMK stated it had no objection to welfare measures, it highlighted that these families were material witnesses in the ongoing CBI investigation supervised by a committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Ajay Rastogi.
Allegations Against TVK Leaders
The petition, filed by DMK organizing secretary R S Bharathi, sought to make the party a party in a pending case. Bharathi submitted that several individuals initially charge-sheeted in the case were now ministers in the Tamil Nadu cabinet following the 2026 Assembly elections. Referring to a public statement allegedly made by Minister Aadhav Arjuna, the plea noted that Arjuna claimed there was "a score to settle" over the Karur incident and alleged that the previous DMK government had "killed" Karur people through the police.
Bharathi sought directions against Chief Minister Vijay and TVK ministers, including Arjuna, Bussy Anand, and CT Nirmal Kumar, to restrain them from making public statements on the merits of the pending investigation. He also demanded safeguards before the state government distributed benefits to the families of stampede victims.
