TN Stampede| Madras High Court Denies Anticipatory Bail To TVK Party Office Bearers, Says Investigation Still In Preliminary Stage

The Madras High Court has denied anticipatory bail to State General Secretary and Joint Secretary of TVK (Thamizhaga Vetri Kalagam) party, namely N. Anand and CTR. Nirmal Kumar respectively, in the Tamil Nadu Stampede incident.

The Madurai Bench was hearing Petitions in connection with the case involving death of around 41 people in a stampede at Actor turned Politician Thiru. Vijay’s rally on September 27 this year.

A Single Bench of Justice M. Jothiraman observed, “Considering the role of the petitioners/accused in the alleged offences, nature and gravity of the offences involved in this case, considering the fact that the investigation is still in preliminary stage and some of the injured persons are still in hospital taking treatment as inpatient and also considering the fact that the alleged occurrence took place only on 27.09.2025, this Court is not inclined to grant anticipatory bail to the petitioners.”

Senior Advocate V. Ragavachari appeared on behalf of the Petitioners, while Additional Advocate General (AAG) Veerakathiravan appeared on behalf of the Respondent.

Brief Facts

On September 26, 2025, the Karur West Secretary of TVK approached the police seeking permission to conduct a political propaganda speech of his party President Thiru.Vijay. The same was permitted by the police with 11 conditions. To manage the crowd and traffic during the said event, the police had deployed around 500 personnel, including Additional Superintendent of Police, Inspector of Police, Sub Inspector of Police, under the supervision of the Inspector General of Police (Central Zone), the Superintendent of Police, Karur District. Next day, around 9:00 a.m. it was broadcast in the media that the President of TVK would be arriving at Karur at 12:00 p.m.

From 10:00 a.m. onwards, the general public and TVK party members began assembling at the venue. Consequently, large crowds started gathering in different areas. In the representation given by TVK Karur Secretary Mathiyalagan, it was reported that approximately 10,000 party members were expected. However, during the event, more than 25,000 persons had gathered. TVK President arrived at Velayuthampalayam around 4:45 p.m. and entered Thavittupalayam, alleged to have deliberately delaying his arrival by conducting a roadshow in the places without permission. This caused inconvenience to the general public and heavy traffic congestion. It was specifically warned that a stampede could occur, causing loss of life and damage to property. Despite this, the accused allegedly failed to regulate the party members.

As a result, members of the crowd began climbing nearby trees and the tin roofs of nearby shops, which eventually collapsed, injuring bystanders and causing several people to experience breathing difficulties. The prolonged wait, lack of adequate drinking water and medical facilities, and the stress caused by the overcrowding led to severe exhaustion among attendees. Resultantly, a stampede occurred during the event, leading to the death of many people. Many others sustained injuries and were admitted to the hospital. Hence, an FIR was registered and apprehending their arrest, the accused approached the High Court.

Reasoning

The High Court in view of the above facts, said, “The learned Additional Advocate General has raised preliminary issue that A2 in this case is a Former Member of the Legislative Assembly(MLA) and therefore, the petition filed by him has to be heard by the Special Bench constituted in the Principal Bench of Madras High Court. In this regard, this Court clarified the same with Registry of this Court and the Registry informed that Vacation Court can entertain the petition filed by Former MLA, as a urgent case.”

The Court remarked that the facts narrated in FIR is disturbing the conscious of the Court and the role of the event organizers and the role of the Police Authorities are crucial in this case.

“The present case arises out of a tragic stampede, for which loss of life and serious injures have occurred, on 27.09.2025. Though the Police Authorities have granted permission to conduct the event on 27.09.2025, by imposing 11 conditions, permissible time was fixed between 03.00 pm., to 10.00 pm”, it noted.

Accordingly, the High Court dismissed the Criminal Original Petitions and denied bail to the accused.

Cause Title- CTR.Nirmal Kumar & Anr. v. The Inspector of Police (Case Number: CRL OP(MD)Nos.16803 & 16811 of 2025)

Appearance:

Petitioners: Senior Advocate V. Ragavachari and Advocate S. Arivazhagan.

Respondent: AAG Veerakathiravan and Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) S. Ravi.

Click here to read/download the Judgment