Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Oct 13: The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed a petition seeking a court-monitored investigation by a Special Investigation Team into Rahul Gandhi’s allegations of electoral roll manipulations in Karnataka, while another bench ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the September 27 stampede during a rally by actor-turned-politician Vijay in Karur in Tamil Nadu in which 41 people were killed.
Rejecting the petitioner’s demand for the court to set up a SIT led by a retired judge into the allegation of electoral rolls manipulation in Bengaluru central and some other constituencies in Karnataka, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said the petitioner was at liberty to approach the Election Commission of India (ECI) if he wished to pursue the matter further.
“We have heard the petitioner’s counsel. We are not inclined to entertain the petition, which is purportedly filed in the public interest. The petitioner may pursue before the ECI, if so advised,” the Bench said in its order.
The counsel appearing for the petitioner, advocate Rohit Pandey, submitted that a representation had already been made to the ECI but had not been acted upon. The Bench, however, declined to intervene, advising the petitioner to avail himself of the remedies available under law. It also refused to prescribe a time limit for the ECI to decide on the representation.
The petition had urged the Court to halt any further revision or finalisation of electoral rolls by the ECI until an independent audit was completed. It further sought directions to the poll body to publish electoral rolls in accessible, machine-readable, and Optical Character Recognition (OCR)-compliant formats to facilitate public verification and scrutiny.
Referring to Mr Gandhi’s press conference on August 7, the petition pointed to his allegation of a “huge criminal fraud” in the electoral process through “collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission.” The Congress leader had claimed that 1,00,250 “fake votes” were created in the Mahadevapura Assembly segment under the Bangalore Central Lok Sabha constituency to ensure a BJP victory. Mr Gandhi had also listed five ways in which the alleged vote chori (vote theft) was carried out — duplicate voters, fake and invalid addresses, bulk voters at a single address, invalid photographs, and misuse of Form 6.
Mr Pandey further pointed out that the Supreme Court’s consistent view that free and fair elections form part of the Constitution’s basic structure, could not be “diluted or subverted by any legislative or executive action.”
Following Mr Gandhi’s remarks, the Chief Electoral Officers of Karnataka and Maharashtra had asked him to provide details of the allegedly “wrong” electors along with a signed declaration so that the poll authorities could initiate “necessary proceedings.” Subsequently, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar had warned on August 17 that Mr Gandhi must either file an affidavit affirming his allegations within seven days or risk rendering his claims baseless.
Meanwhile, a Bench of Justices J.K. Maheshwari and N.V. Anjaria ordered a CBI inquiry into the Karur stampede during a rally by Mr Vijay’s party, the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK). The Bench said an independent investigation was necessary “to allay concerns and ensure impartiality.” It also constituted a three-member monitoring committee, chaired by former Supreme Court judge Justice Ajay Rastogi, to supervise the progress of the CBI probe.
“Looking at the facts, the issue has a bearing on the fundamental rights of the citizens. The directions are to hand over the investigation to the CBI. In order to allay the concern of parties, we propose to set up a three-member committee. We have requested Justice Ajay Rastogi to head the committee,” the Bench orally remarked while pronouncing the interim order.
The court was hearing a batch of petitions, including one filed by the TVK, challenging the Madras High Court’s October 3 order, which had accused party president Joseph Vijay and other leaders of “fleeing” the scene. The party had contended that the order constituting a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Inspector-General of Police Asra Garg, was issued without making Mr Vijay or other TVK leaders parties to the proceedings, thereby denying them an opportunity to be heard.
The court said the committee would function under Justice Rastogi’s directions and may “undertake an inquiry into any matter ancillary or incidental to the Karur stampede” to ensure a fair and transparent investigation. It also directed the CBI to submit monthly progress reports before the panel.
Justice Rastogi has been directed to nominate two senior IPS officers of the Tamil Nadu cadre, not native to the State and holding the rank of at least Inspector General of Police, to serve on the committee.
Considering the gravity of the incident, the top court requested the committee’s chairperson “to immediately organise his first meeting” after taking charge of the probe. It further directed that the investigation be completed “as expeditiously as possible, within the statutory timeframe.”
Coming down heavily on the single-judge order of the Madras High Court, the Supreme Court said the High Court’s decision “lacked sensitivity and propriety” and had led to a “multiplicity of proceedings.” It further observed that Justice N. Senthilkumar’s order raised concerns about judicial discipline, as the Madurai Bench, which had territorial jurisdiction over the incident, was already seized of related petitions.
“After perusal of the pleadings and relief, the single judge has suo motu decided to enlarge the scope of the writ petition, stating extraordinary circumstances and extraordinary measures even in the absence of pleading and prayer for the constitution of SIT. Learned single judge made some observations about the Karur stampede in the writ petition in which TVK members were not made parties,” the Bench said while reading out portions of the order.
The Court further observed that the High Court judgment was “completely silent” on how the single judge arrived at his conclusions or why he disregarded the fact that Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had already constituted a one-man commission of inquiry to probe the stampede.
In the October 3 order, Justice Senthilkumar had described the stampede as a “huge man-made disaster” and said the court could not remain a “mute spectator” after witnessing the scale of the tragedy, in which several women and children had died. Recording the court’s strong disapproval, the judge also noted that the party leadership had shown no remorse even after the tragedy.
The single-judge’s order came hours after a Division Bench of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court dismissed a batch of petitions including one filed by BJP’s Uma Anandan, seeking a CBI probe. A Bench of Justices M. Dhandapani and M. Jothiraman had observed that the investigation was still at a nascent stage and that no credible allegations had been raised suggesting interference by the State government.
“If aggrieved persons come to this court, we will rescue. Don’t treat this court as the political arena,” the Bench had remarked, adding that petitioners could approach the court later if the probe showed signs of bias. The apex court also said it had “seriously observed the functioning of the High Court” in the matter and would take cognisance if procedural lapses were found.
Accordingly, it sought a report from the Registrar General of the High Court on how the case came to be registered as a criminal petition and why the writ seeking standard operating procedures (SoPs) for crowd management was not treated as a public interest litigation petition instead. It further directed the High Court registry to place the writ petition before a Division Bench for further hearing.
The stampede occurred amid overcrowding at the TVK rally, which drew far more attendees than anticipated. While permission had been sought for around 10,000 participants, police estimates placed the turnout closer to 25,000. Preliminary reports cited poor crowd management and inadequate facilities, including the absence of drinking water, as contributing factors.
Most of the victims were women and children who had travelled from across western Tamil Nadu to see the popular actor. Following the incident, the police booked several TVK functionaries, excluding Mr Vijay, on charges including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal negligence, and misrepresentation of crowd strength.
The ruling DMK had earlier said a couple of petitions about the Karur stampede were attempting to mislead the Supreme Court. A Tamil YouTube channel had broadcast interviews with a litigant, who said he was unaware of the petition filed in his name. A woman said her husband, who had deserted her years ago, now moved the court for a CBI probe claiming to represent the interests of her child who died in the stampede.
Following this, DMK organisation secretary RS Bharati had said, “What has now come to light in the petition at the Honourable Supreme Court seeking a CBI inquiry into Karur TVK stampede is nothing short of an attempt to mislead the highest court of the land.” In a post on X, he said one petition seems to have been filed in the name of a person not truly representative of the deceased and the other by a person who seems to have been misled into signing documents he did not fully understand.
“This is a calculated political act aimed at manipulating the judicial process. This is a dangerous attempt to use grief and tragedy for cheap political gain. I hope the Honourable Supreme Court investigates what appears to be brazen fraud on the court and deals with those behind it with the severity they deserve,” he said.