CHENNAI: The opposition DMK on Friday filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking to be impleaded in the pending proceedings related to the Karur stampede that claimed 41 lives on September 27, 2025. The DMK also urged the court to restrain Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and other accused persons from making public statements on the ongoing CBI investigation.
In an interlocutory application filed in the Supreme Court, senior DMK leader R S Bharathi contended that recent public remarks made by Public Works Minister Aadhav Arjuna, who is among those charge-sheeted in the case, could prejudice the ongoing court-monitored CBI probe.
The application also referred to reports that CM Vijay is expected to visit Karur on July 10 to distribute government orders, compassionate appointments and other relief measures to the families of victims. Bharathi also sought directions to ensure that interactions with victims’ families, who are material witnesses in the case, does not affect the investigation.
While stating that the DMK had no objection to extending welfare measures, Bharathi argued that the beneficiaries are also material witnesses in the pending CBI investigation and sought safeguards to ensure that such interactions do not influence the probe.
Referring to Arjuna’s speech on July 2, Bharathi alleged that the minister publicly accused former CM M K Stalin for the Karur deaths and declared that there was “a score to settle”. The application argued that such statements by an accused, who now holds public office, could interfere with the fairness of the CBI investigation.
The DMK also demanded action against the “irresponsible, misleading, malicious and disrespectful speech made by minister Aadhav Arjuna in relation to Karur stampede” against Stalin and the state police.
Bharathi has asked the apex court to implead him as a respondent, restrain Vijay, Aadhav Arjuna, Anand, C T R Nirmalkumar and others connected to the case from making public statements on the merits of the investigation, and directed that welfare measures for victims’ families be carried out only under procedures approved by the court after consulting the CBI.