CHENNAI — The Madras High Court put an immediate stop to all political rallies, roadshows, and other public events on state and national highways in Tamil Nadu on Friday. The important order comes after the terrible Karur stampede on September 27 that killed 41 people during a rally by actor-turned-politician Vijay and his party, the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK).
The prohibition is just temporary and will stay in place until the state administration comes up with and puts into operation Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for large gatherings.
Important Orders and Notes from the Court:
No Highways: The court, which was hearing four Public Interest Litigations (PILs), ruled that all such events stop right away on state and national highways.
Government Assurance: The state government told the court that it would follow the rules and that gatherings would not be allowed on highways until the SOPs are finished.
The High Court set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into the Karur stampede incident in detail. The team is directed by IG (North) Asra Garg. The SIT told the Karur police to give them all the papers they had right away.
Justice Senthilkumar strongly criticized the TVK, saying that the party did not help the people or children during the disaster and did not take responsibility for the catastrophe. Early results show that poor crowd control was a major cause.
Justice Senthilkumar also sharply condemned the Tamil Nadu police for not doing anything about a recent accident involving star Vijay’s campaign bus. The court asked, “What stops registering a case?” when they were told that they couldn’t. The cops have to file a complaint even if no one does.
Judicial Anguish: Justice Senthilkumar expressed his sympathies to the victims and said, “Watching the videos is painful.” He also asked the authorities what they were going to do next, pointing out that only two people had been arrested so far in the stampede case.
The orders show how seriously the courts take the event and how the police and the political party that organized it handled it afterward.