The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) has moved the Supreme Court seeking to be impleaded in the pending proceedings relating to the Karur stampede case, which claimed the lives of 41 persons and left 142 others injured after a stampede broke out during a public meeting organised by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) at Velusamypuram on the Karur–Erode highway in Tamil Nadu on September 27, 2025.
DMK Organising Secretary RS Bharathi has filed an impleadment application in the pending Special Leave Petition in which the Supreme Court transferred the investigation into the incident to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on October 13, 2025. The investigation is being carried out under the supervision of a committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Ajay Rastogi.
According to the application, the State’s preliminary investigation attributed the tragedy to several factors, including the alleged under-declaration of the expected crowd, mobilisation of party cadres beyond the permitted strength, the delayed arrival of TVK leader Vijay, failure to provide adequate crowd-management arrangements and basic amenities, non-compliance with police safety instructions, and the movement of the campaign vehicle into an already overcrowded venue.
The plea states that several persons who were initially charge-sheeted in the criminal case are now members of the Tamil Nadu Council of Ministers following the 2026 Assembly elections. It further states that the CBI has already questioned Chief Minister Vijay and several senior TVK leaders as part of the continuing Court-monitored investigation.
A major grievance raised in the application relates to a public statement allegedly made by Minister Aadhav Arjuna on July 2, 2026. Bharathi has referred to remarks allegedly made by the Minister indicating that there was a score to settle over the Karur incident and accusing the previous DMK government of causing the deaths through police action. According to the plea, such statements by an accused holding public office are intended to influence the ongoing Court-monitored investigation, shape public perception regarding criminal liability and prejudice the investigation.
The application contends that an accused occupying public office cannot seek to shape the public narrative while the investigation is still in progress. It further alleges that the Minister’s remarks were calculated to interfere with the investigation and states that a separate contempt petition is proposed to be filed against him.
The plea also refers to reports that Chief Minister Vijay is expected to visit Karur around July 10 to distribute government orders, compassionate appointments and other welfare benefits to the families of those who died or were injured in the stampede. While clarifying that it has no objection to the grant of statutory compensation, ex gratia assistance or other welfare measures, Bharathi has argued that the victims’ families are material witnesses in the CBI investigation. According to the application, direct interaction between such witnesses and persons connected with the subject matter of the investigation or members of the political executive could give rise to a reasonable apprehension regarding the fairness, independence and impartiality of the ongoing probe.
The application also points out that Vijay had earlier distributed financial assistance of Rs. 20 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs. 2 lakh each to the injured victims in October 2025, when the criminal proceedings were pending. It contends that the proposed distribution of further government benefits after assuming office, taken together with the public statements allegedly made by an accused Minister, warrants judicial safeguards to preserve the sanctity and integrity of the ongoing investigation.
Among the reliefs sought, Bharathi has requested the Supreme Court to restrain Chief Minister Vijay, Minister Aadhav Arjuna, Bussy Anand, CTR Nirmal Kumar and other accused persons from making public statements attributing criminal liability or commenting on the merits of the pending Court-monitored investigation.
The application has also sought a direction that government benefits to the victims’ families be disbursed only in accordance with safeguards approved by the Supreme Court and after placing the proposed course of action before the CBI, so that the testimony and evidence of material witnesses remain uninfluenced during the investigation.
Additionally, Bharathi has sought a direction to the CBI to initiate appropriate legal proceedings against Aadhav Arjuna over his July 2 statement, alleging that it amounts to an attempt to influence material witnesses and impede the ongoing Court-monitored investigation.
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