SC: 'Something wrong' in the Madras HC

FLAGGING flaws in adherence to rules in listing and hearing of cases in the Madras High Court, a Supreme Court bench hearing the Karur stampede case observed on Friday that "something wrong" is happening and sought a report from the Madras High Court and made the Registrar General of the HC a party to the case.

- SUCHITRA KALYAN MOHANTY @ New Delhi

The court also rejected the state's demand to modify the direction regarding the composition of the Supervisory Committee constituted to monitor the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) investigation, and to allow the Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission to continue its inquiry into the stampede.

It may be recalled that during the hearing of petitions seeking an independent investigation into the September 27 Karur stampede at actor Vijay's political rally in which 41 people died, the SC bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi, on October 13, had raised questions about the manner in which the Madras High Court had intervened in the matter.

THE judges wondered how the Principal Bench of the Madras HC in Chennai could have directed the formation of an SIT comprising only state police officers, when Karur fell within the jurisdiction of the Madurai Bench.