New Delhi, 7 July  

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay is not an accused in the Karur stampede case and the court cannot regulate his visits, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said as it pulled up DMK for its plea questioning the visit and alleging that ministers were influencing witnesses in the matter.

A partial working day bench of Justices KV Viswanathan and Alok Aradhe refused to entertain the DMK's plea and asked how the court can regulate the visit of the executive head.

Vijay is scheduled to meet families of the stampede victims on 10 July.

"The chief minister is not an accused in the FIRs registered in the case. Today, to make this court a political fora...how is that possible?" Justice Viswanathan told senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for DMK secretary RS Bharati.

Kumar submitted that the TVK ministers were making public statements which were creating a narrative regarding the stampede case in violation of the last year's judgment where the apex court transferred the investigation to the CBI.

Justice Viswanathan then asked, "You want the chief minister's visit to be regulated by the Supreme Court and fix his itinerary? How can this be done?"

Kumar submitted that the DMK may be filing a contempt petition against TN minister Aadhav Arjuna over some comments made by him regarding the case and for deliberately violating the directions imposed by the apex court last year. He added that the party was seeking to restrain comments being made by the chief minister and other state ministers regarding the merits of the case.

Justice Viswanathan asked Kumar, "So you want us to impose an injunction on free speech? You counter their speech with your speech. How can a political rival implead themselves in a matter where the Supreme Court has transferred the matter to the CBI."

Kumar replied, "No, I am not. My prayer is that, pending completion of the CBI investigation, there shall be no public statements removing criminal liability, speaking to political opponents, or commenting on the merits of the pending investigation in a manner likely to prejudice or interfere with a fair and independent investigation." He said the party wants free speech to be used with more responsibility.

Justice Viswanathan then questioned Kumar as to how the distribution of Rs 10 lakh ex-gratia compensation and orders of compassionate appointment for the family members of the stampede victims, which was already announced, will affect the investigation in the case.

The court told Kumar that the DMK may wish to withdraw its plea and avail any other remedy under law or else the court will dismiss it.

Kumar agreed to withdraw the plea with liberty to approach any other forum and urged the court to give them the option to raise the matter before the committee headed by Justice (retired) Ajay Rastogi, which has been constituted by the apex court to monitor the investigation.

The top court dismissed the plea as withdrawn.

The DMK secretary had filed the plea seeking to restrain the Tamil Nadu CM, Minister Aadhav Arjuna and other accused people from making public statements on the case and to regulate their interaction with victims' families during the pendency of the CBI probe.

The plea referred to reports that the CM is scheduled to visit Karur to distribute government orders, compassionate appointments and other benefits to the families of the deceased and injured victims.

The petition also referred to a public statement allegedly made recently by Arjuna, in which he purportedly said that there was "a score to settle" over the Karur incident and accused the previous DMK government of having "killed" the people of Karur through the police.

The plea sought directions to the CBI to register a complaint and take action against Arjuna's statements, alleging they amounted to "influencing and tampering with witnesses and impeding the investigation".

The plea contended that direct interaction with material witnesses by people connected with the subject matter of the investigation, or by the political executive while distributing benefits arising out of the very incident under investigation, could create an apprehension about the fairness and independence of the investigative process.

On 13 October last year, the top court ordered a CBI probe into the Karur stampede in which 41 people were killed during TVK rally of 27 September, saying the incident had shaken the national conscience and deserved a fair and impartial investigation.

Acting on a plea filed by Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) for an independent probe, the top court had set up a three-member supervisory committee headed by former apex court judge Ajay Rastogi to monitor the CBI investigation.

Earlier, police said the rally witnessed a turnout of about 27,000 people - nearly three times the expected 10,000 - and blamed a seven-hour delay in Vijay reaching the venue for the tragedy.