Chennai, Oct 27 (NationPress) The Madras High Court is set to hear a significant collection of cases on Monday concerning actor-politician C. Joseph Vijay's TVK, the tragic stampede at the Karur rally that resulted in the loss of 41 lives on September 27. The cases also emphasize the necessity for a standardized Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for all upcoming political events in Tamil Nadu.

The first Division Bench, led by Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava and Justice G. Arul Murugan, will commence with the second anticipatory bail petition submitted by TVK General Secretary N. Anand, commonly referred to as ‘Bussy’ Anand. The Karur Town Police had charged him with culpable homicide in relation to the deaths caused by the stampede.

Anand's initial bail request was denied by Justice M. Jothiraman of the Madurai Bench during the Dussehra break on October 3. Following this, he filed a second plea on October 14, identifying the Karur Town Police as the respondent. However, with the Supreme Court transferring the investigation to the CBI just a day before, the petition is now redirected to the principal seat in Chennai and marked under “For Withdrawal.”

In addition to this, the Bench will address a writ petition originally submitted in the Madurai Bench by an individual litigant, K. Rajan, seeking disciplinary measures against the Karur Collector and Superintendent of Police for alleged failures during the rally. This matter has also been moved to Chennai.

Another notable petition, lodged by TVK prior to the Karur incident on September 16, challenges what they describe as “onerous and unreasonable” police restrictions imposed on their campaign events. Justice N. Sathish Kumar, who previously presided over this case, had called on the state government to formulate clear guidelines for political gatherings. The Supreme Court later observed that the creation of such guidelines should fall under a Division Bench's purview, leading to its combination with related petitions from the Madurai Bench calling for mandatory provisions like drone surveillance, fire safety, drinking water, and medical assistance at campaign sites.

The Bench will also consider a plea from TVK's election campaign manager Aadhav Arjuna, requesting to annul an FIR filed against him due to an allegedly provocative social media post advocating for “youth rebellion” akin to uprisings in Sri Lanka and Nepal.

While such requests typically appear before a single judge, this case has been associated with the Division Bench matters due to its connection with the larger context of the Karur tragedy under Supreme Court review.

A separate petition from BJP councillor Uma Anandan, seeking a CBI investigation into the Karur stampede, will also be reviewed. Filed on September 30 during the Dussehra break, this petition gained traction after the Supreme Court assigned the investigation to the CBI. The High Court has now deemed it “For Maintainability,” as her request has essentially been fulfilled by the Supreme Court's directive.