NEW DELHI, Oct 13: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered a CBI probe into the Karur stampede in which 41 people were killed, saying that the incident has shaken the national conscience and deserves a fair and impartial investigation.
In its order on a plea by actor-politician Vijay’s TVK for an independent probe, the top court also set up a three-member supervisory committee headed by former apex court judge Ajay Rastogi to monitor the CBI investigation.Suspending the directions for the appointment of SIT and a one-man enquiry commission, the apex court asked Tamil Nadu to extend full cooperation to the officers of the central agency. It also criticised Justice N Senthilkumar of the Madras HC for entertaining petitions on incident, ordering an SIT probe and making observations against TVK and it members without making them a party to the case. A bench,said that the Karur stampede has left an imprint in the minds of the citizens throughout the country.
It said the incident has wide ramifications with respect to the life of the citizens, and enforcing the fundamental rights of the families who lost their kith and kin is of utmost importance.
The apex court noted the political undertone of the case and that “’without having regard to the gravity of the incident”, comments have been made before the media by the top officers of the police department, which may create doubt in the minds of the citizenry on impartiality and fair investigation.
“The faith and trust of the general public in the process of investigation must be restored in the criminal justice system, and one way to instil such trust is by ensuring that the investigation in the present case is completely impartial, independent and unbiased.
“Looking to the fact that the issue involved certainly has a bearing on the fundamental rights of the citizens, the incident, which has shaken the national conscience, deserves fair and impartial investigation. There cannot be any doubt that fair investigation is the right of a citizen,” the bench said. (PTI)
