SC slams Madras HC's Karur stampede order

The Supreme Court on Friday expressed concern over the Madras high court's “tendency to pass orders beyond the scope” of the petitions before itand said “some propriety must be maintained” in judicial proceedings.

- Ayesha Arvind

A bench of justices JK Maheshwari and NV Anjaria -- which was hearing petitions linked to the stampede in Tamil Nadu’s Karur on September 27, when 41 people died during a rally by actor Vijay's political party Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) — noted that the high court ordered the constitution of a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the matter even though the writ petition before it had only sought a Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) for political rallies and road shows.

The court reserved orders on the batch of petitions, including one filed by the TVK through its general secretary Aadhav ‘Arjuna, challenging the formation of the SIT and the adverse remarks made against its party and leaders.

It questioned why the principal bench of the high court in Chennai had entertained a public interest litigation on the issue, despite the incident falling under the Madurai bench’s territorial jurisdiction.