Madras High Court Directs Tamil Nadu Government to Frame SOPs for Political Rallies
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 27: The Madras High Court on Monday directed the Tamil Nadu government to frame within 10 days a draft Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the conduct of political meetings and rallies in the State to help avoid a Karuk stampede type mishap in which 41 people were trampled to death during actor-politician C. Joseph Vijay’s political campaign on September 27.
Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan told Additional Advocate General J. Ravindran the draft SOP must be placed before the court by November 11 failing which they would order that applications seeking permission for political meets must be made 10 days before the event and the police must dispose them at least three days in advance.
The interim order was passed by the High Court on a petition filed by Mr Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) party but much before the Karur tragedy that happened in Vijay’s presence. The petition then was filed by the TVK complaining about the “onerous” conditions imposed by the police for its campaign. A host of other petitions were also filed by different individuals after the Karur tragedy insisting upon the framing of a SOP/guidelines to regulate the conduct of political meetings and ensure the safety of the participants.
The investigation into the Karur stampede incident, meanwhile, has been taken over by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) at the behest of the Supreme Court. A special CBI team has been pressed into action to gather evidence. The agency re-registered the case on the directions of the Supreme Court on October 13. Describing the tragedy as one that has “shaken the national conscience,” the apex court had handed over the investigation to the CBI instead of the Special Investigation Team (SIT) constituted by the Tamil Nadu government.
In the High Court, senior counsel V. Raghavachari, representing TVK, told the Chief Justice’s Bench the State police must be directed to grant permission for the political campaigns well in advance so that the parties concerned could have sufficient time to make necessary arrangements. He claimed the permission for the September 27 Karur political campaign was granted just a day before the event.
Vehemently denying the claim, the AAG told the court that submissions were being made in the air though there were documents to prove their falsity. He said had originally intended to conduct its political campaign in Karur only in December. Suddenly, there were change in plans, and an application was submitted on September 25 for the conduct of the event on September 27, he said.
Not wanting to go into the political thicket, the Chief Justice told the AAG that allegations would always be made only against the party in power and therefore, the State must handle such issues carefully. He said, every political party was obligated to make applications for its meetings well in advance and that the police too must take a decision on those applications before a reasonable period of time.
Since several petitions had been filed in the court for formulation of a SOP, the Chief Justice initially decided to grant just a week’s time to the State government. However, when the AAG said, multiple entities such as the civic bodies, police, health and fire and rescue services departments would have to be consulted, the first Division Bench decided to grant 10 days’ time for coming up with the draft.
Senior counsel Vijay Narayan, representing All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), told the Bench that he represents the principal opposition party in the State and that it had filed an impleading petition on Monday morning for being included as one of the respondents in TVK’s case. He said, the party intended to give its suggestions on regulation of political meetings and rallies.
Since AIADMK’s impleading petition was yet to be numbered and listed for hearing, the judges decided to take a call on that petition as and when it comes up before them during the course of the week. They also closed a writ petition filed by BJP councillor Uma Anandan, seeking a CBI probe into the Karur stampede case, since the apex court has already constituted the CBI inquiry.
The apex court monitoring committee is authorised to undertake an inquiry into “any matter ancillary or incidental” to the stampede, as may be necessary, to ensure a fair and transparent probe. The CBI will submit monthly progress reports to the committee.
The apex court while ordering the CBI inquiry had observed that entrusting the probe to the same police force whose senior officials had publicly exonerated their subordinates would compromise the credibility of the investigation. “This fact in itself creates a doubt in the minds of the general public about the independence and impartiality of the investigation… Caught in the doldrums are the families of the deceased, injured victims and kith and kin of those who lost their lives in this tragedy. For them, the political tussle between the two sides is of little solace,” it said, hearing a batch of petitions. The petitions before the Supreme Court had included the one filed by the TVK, challenging the Madras High Court’s October 3 order that had accused party president Vijay and other leaders of “fleeing” the scene.
