Karur stampede shook national conscience; fair & impartial inquiry needed: SC

NEW DELHI: Stating that the death of 41 people in the TVK rally at Karur has shaken the conscience of the nation, the Supreme Court on Monday said it deserved a fair and impartial investigation and ordered a CBI probe monitored by a three-member committee headed by retired SC judge Ajay Rastogi.

In its order on a plea by actor-politician Vijay's TVK for an independent probe, the bench comprising Justices JK Maheshwari and NV Anjaria set aside the directions appointing a special investigation team by the Madras High Court and a one-man inquiry commission by the State government.

It also criticised Justice N Senthilkumar of the High Court for entertaining petitions over the incident, ordering an SIT probe, and making observations against TVK and its members without making them a party to the case.

The apex court noted the political undertone of the case and that "'without having regard to the gravity of the incident", comments have been made before the media by the top officers of the police department, which may create doubt in the minds of the citizenry on impartiality and fair investigation.

"The faith and trust of the general public in the process of investigation must be restored in the criminal justice system, and one way to instil such trust is by ensuring that the investigation in the present case is completely impartial, independent and unbiased.”

The apex court also directed retired Justice Rastogi to choose two senior IPS officers who are not natives of Tamil Nadu. The committee may review the evidence collected by the CBI and supervise the investigation, and is also empowered to inquire into any matter ancillary/incidental to the stampede, the bench said.

The top court also criticised Justice Senthilkumar for entertaining petitions on the September 27 stampede at actor Vijay's rally and ordering an SIT probe. "There was no occasion for the single judge of the main seat to entertain the petitions without orders of the chief justice when petitions seeking a probe into the incident were pending before the Madurai bench," the bench said.

Noting that Vijay's TVK and its members were not made a party, the top court said observations were made against them without affording them any opportunity of hearing.

"The judgment is completely silent about how the single judge arrived at such a conclusion, what material was perused by the court. The said order merely refers to the submissions made by the additional advocate general," the bench said.