Supreme Court dismisses DMK plea to block CM Joseph Vijay Karur visit

The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday dismissed a plea filed by the DMK that sought to restrain Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay from visiting the families of the Karur stampede victims.

A bench of Justices KV Viswanathan and Alok Aradhe questioned the DMK's petition, asking how the visit of an executive head to distribute benefits could be construed as influencing witnesses. Following the court's sharp questioning, the DMK withdrew its petition, clearing the way for the Chief Minister's visit to proceed.

DMK secretary RS Bharati had filed the plea seeking to block Chief Minister Vijay, State Minister Aadhav Arjuna, and other accused individuals from making public statements about the case. The petition also sought to regulate their interactions with the victims' families during the ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe.

The Chief Minister is scheduled to visit Karur on July 10 to distribute government orders, compassionate appointments, and other benefits to the families of those deceased and injured in the stampede.

During the hearing, senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, representing the DMK, was asked by the bench how visiting stampede victims amounted to influencing witnesses. The court told Kumar that the DMK could either withdraw the plea or the court would dismiss it. Kumar agreed to withdraw the petition with the liberty to approach another forum, and the top court subsequently dismissed the plea as withdrawn.

In the petition, Bharati noted that several individuals who were initially chargesheeted in the stampede case had become ministers in the Tamil Nadu Cabinet following the 2026 assembly elections.

The stampede, which resulted in the deaths of 41 people, occurred last year. On October 13 last year, the Supreme Court ordered a CBI probe into the incident, stating that the tragedy had shaken the national conscience and required a fair and impartial investigation.