The Supreme Court on Friday raised several doubts over the legal proceedings in the tragic Karur stampede, and it even probed the conduct of autopsies in midnight and the constitution of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) by the Madras High Court.
Hearing a bunch of petitions over the tragic stampede, a bench comprising Justices J.K. Maheshwari and N.V. Anjaria heard submissions from senior counsels appearing for the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, victims, Tamil Nadu government and others.
The matters include a petition moved by TVK secretary Aadhav Arjuna challenging the police-led SIT and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders' pleas seeking a CBI probe. Hearing the pleas, the apex court wondered why the Madras High Court heard the matter while the case fell within the jurisdiction of Madurai bench.
The apex court also questioned the constitution of a SIT by the Madras High Court, while the plea it was considering was regarding the formulation of a standard operating procedure (SOP) for public events.
"I am unable to understand, Chennai court, they are not looking at the prayer which is given. Something has to be done about propriety. Here in this case, the prayer is different and the court considers different prayers," Live Law reported, quoting Justice Maheshwari.
During the hearing, senior lawyers appearing for TVK took exception to scathing remarks made by the High Court against Vijay and other party leaders. The High Court had observed Vijay and other TVK leaders lacked remorse, and accused them of "escaping" from the place.
Contending the High Court's charge, TVK said in apex court that it was police who escorted Vijay out Karur, saying his presence would only aggrevate the situation. "These observations are politically damning to us," TVK's lawyer C.A. Sundaram said.
The party challenged the constitution of the SIT comprising only Tamil Nadu police personnel and said a retired Supreme Court judge should lead the probe.
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"You conducted post-mortem in four hours at midnight?," Justice Maheshwari questioned the state. Senior lawyer P. Wilson, appearing for Tamil Nadu, said autopsies were conducted in the night following collector's permission. Wilson said the state will file an affidavit answering the queries, the publication reported. The apex court has reserved orders on the pleas. |
