The DMK leader said Mr. Arjuna was both a cabinet minister and an accused in the Karur stampede case. His conduct as an “accused holding public office” was unacceptable and prejudicial to the integrity of the CBI investigation. File | Photo credit: R. Vengadesh.
The Supreme Court on Monday (July 6, 2026) agreed to urgently hear on Tuesday (July 7, 2026) an application filed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) seeking a judicial direction to restrain ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leaders, including Chief Minister K Joseph Vijay and Minister Adhav Arjuna, from making public statements to “influence important witnesses” in Karur created a stampede in the case by threatening or making false allegations against political opponents.
The oral submission was made before the leave bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Sheel Nagu by senior advocate Khuzefa Ahmadi appearing on behalf of DMK Organizing Secretary R.S. Bharati.
“There is an attempt to influence important witnesses while the CBI investigation ordered by Your Lordship is ongoing,” Mr. Ahmadi said, demanding an early hearing.
Mr. Bharathi approached the apex court in the pending Karur stampede case.
The plea alleged that Mr. Arjuna, who is the Cabinet Minister for Public Works and Sports Development, made public statements against former Chief Minister K Stalin in connection with the stampede that claimed 41 lives and injured 142 during the TCE rally on September 27 last year.
Mr. Bharati said Mr. Arjuna’s statements on July 2 were aimed at shifting the blame for the stampede to Mr. Stalin, who was the chief minister at the time of the tragedy, in a bid to undermine the ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court order. Essentially, the statements alleged that the previous DMK government had “killed the people of Karur” through police action against the crowd gathered at the rally.
The DMK leader said Mr. Arjuna was both a cabinet minister and an accused in the Karur stampede case. His conduct as an “accused holding public office” was unacceptable and prejudicial to the integrity of the CBI investigation.
The plea sought direction to the CBI to register a complaint and take action against Mr. Arjuna’s public statements of “influence, manipulation of witnesses and obstruction of investigation.”
Mr. Bharathi also said that Chief Minister Vijay is likely to travel to Karur on or around July 10 to meet the families of the dead and injured stampede victims and hand over government benefits to them, including compassionate appointment orders. The state government has already announced an ex-gratia payment of ₹ 10 lakh to the affected families, the statement said.
The DMK leader clarified that he had no objection to the state government providing ex gratia assistance, compassionate appointments or other welfare measures to the grieving families, but was wary of the fact that the members of these families and the victims were important witnesses in the active investigation.
“In these exceptional circumstances, where the investigation is still ongoing, any direct interaction with such material witnesses by persons associated with the subject of the investigation or by the political leader currently in power, especially when distributing benefits flowing from the incident under investigation itself, may raise concerns, real or perceived, about the fairness and independence of the investigative process,” Mr. Bharati said.
The statement alleged that Mr Vijay, even before taking office, had been distributing significant amounts of money to victims’ families while criminal proceedings were ongoing.
“While the State Government has the power to provide ex gratia relief, compassionate appointments, government orders and other welfare measures to the families of the dead and injured victims of the Karur stampede, no such benefits can be provided during the CBI investigation except in accordance with the procedure and safeguards as may be directed by the Supreme Court and after submitting the proposed course of action to the CBI,” the statement said.
Published – Jul 6, 2026 11:35 AM EST.