NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday decided to list and hear on Tuesday an application filed by the DMK alleging “active influencing” of witnesses by Tamil Nadu ministers in connection with the Karur stampede last year that left 41 dead and 142 injured.
A Partial Court Working Day Bench (previously known as vacation bench) of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Sheel Nagu agreed to list the matter after senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for one of the respondents, sought urgent hearing. “This court earlier directed a CBI probe. Now, some accused are attempting to actively influence the witnesses,” Ahmadi told the bench.
Taking note of the submissions, the bench said the matter would be heard on Tuesday. It clarified that the hearing will cover allegations of witness tampering as well as other reliefs sought in related petitions, including the recent DMK plea seeking to curb Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay and other accused ministers from making public statements on the
stampede probe. Ahmadi said the application was filed in the pending special leave petition arising from the stampede at a TVK rally in Karur on September 27, 2025.
Plea seeks curbs on accused approaching relatives of victims
On October 13, 2025, the Supreme Court, in its verdict, transferred the investigation to the CBI and placed it under the supervision of a court-appointed panel headed by Justice Ajay Rastogi, a former SC judge.
The counsel submitted that the plea sought urgent directions to restrain certain accused persons, now holding ministerial positions in the TN government, from approaching witnesses and victims’ families. He also contended that such actions amount to interference with the investigation and could undermine the CBI probe.
Recently, DMK organising secretary RS Bharathi had approached the top court seeking impleadment and curbs on CM Vijay, Minister for Public Works Aadhav Arjuna and other accused from commenting on the CBI probe or contacting victims’ families, arguing that such conduct could influence witnesses and prejudice the judicial process.
The petition also referred to a public statement made by Aadhav Arjuna on Thursday in which he allegedly said that there was “a score to settle” over the Karur incident and that the previous DMK government had “killed” Karur people through the police.
