The Supreme Court on Tuesday raised a series of pointed questions to lawyers appearing for the DMK over an interim petition linked to the Karur crowd-crush case, and the party ultimately withdrew the plea following strong remarks from the bench.
The case relates to a vehicle campaign by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay at Velusamipuram in Karur on September 27, 2025, during which a crowd crush led to 41 deaths. The CBI is investigating the incident. The report said TVK provided ₹20 lakh each as relief to the families of those who died.
With TVK now in government, the administration has planned compassionate appointments for the 41 families, selecting one eligible person from each family based on educational qualifications. Chief Minister Vijay is scheduled to visit Karur on July 10 to meet affected families, pay floral tributes, and later attend a public interaction event near the Atlas auditorium at Vennamalai.
In this backdrop, DMK organising secretary R.S. Bharathi moved the Supreme Court seeking restrictions on public remarks about the case, alleging that Tamil Nadu minister Aadhav Arjuna’s statements were defamatory and could intimidate witnesses, and that the Chief Minister’s proposed meetings and issuance of appointment orders could affect the neutrality of the CBI probe.
A bench of Justices K.V. Viswanathan and Alok Aradhe questioned the basis of the plea, noting that in the case registered during the DMK’s tenure, Vijay had not been added as an accused. The judges also asked whether the court was expected to decide a Chief Minister’s schedule or act as a “censorship committee”, and said they could not pass orders that would curb freedom of expression. After the court asked if the interim petition was being withdrawn, DMK’s counsel agreed, and the plea was dismissed as withdrawn.
