Tamil Nadu urges Supreme Court to recall order for CBI probe into Karur stampede

The Tamil Nadu government has urged the Supreme Court to recall its interim order directing an inquiry by the Central Bureau of Investigation into the stampede at a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam party rally in Tamil Nadu’s Karur district, which left 41 persons dead, Live Law reported on Tuesday.

In an affidavit, the state said the order effectively granted the petitioner’s final relief at an interim stage by taking the investigation away from the state police and putting it under an external supervisory committee.

The Supreme Court ordered a CBI investigation into the stampede on October 13 after hearing multiple petitions, including one from Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam general secretary Aadhav Arjuna.

The party took objection to the High Court forming a Special Investigation Team comprising only officers from the Tamil Nadu Police.

Now the state of Tamil Nadu has argued that the October order, which also suspended the Justice Aruna Jagadeesan Commission and created a three-member supervisory panel led by former Supreme Court judge Ajay Rastogi, “virtually allowed the writ petition” even as questions on the maintainability of the appeal were still pending, Live Law reported.

“There is no prima facie evidence that the investigation conducted by the State Police was tainted, biased, or actuated by mala fides,” The Indian Express quoted the affidavit as saying.

The state further said this approach was inconsistent...

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