The Madras High Court has strongly criticized actor-politician Vijay and his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), in the aftermath of a stampede that resulted in the deaths of 41 people in Karur on September 27, 2025. The court expressed "agony" and "anguish" over the incident, describing it as a "huge man-made disaster".
Justice N. Senthilkumar, presiding over the case, rebuked TVK for its irresponsible conduct and the apparent lack of remorse displayed by its leadership. The court noted that the "leader (Vijay) vanished and disappeared from the place of occurrence" and that the party "abandoned their cadres, leaving their own followers, leaving their own fans in the lurch". Justice Senthilkumar stated, "It is unfortunate to record that such a leadership is of poor quality". The judge further questioned, "What kind of party is this? Everybody in the party fled from the place".
The Madras High Court has ordered a probe by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the stampede. The SIT will be headed by Asra Garg, Inspector General of Police, North Zone, TN. The court has directed the SIT to commence investigations immediately. The court also instructed the Tamil Nadu government to refrain from granting permission for roadshows by political parties until a standard operating procedure (SOP) is framed to regulate such events.
The court also addressed accidents involving Vijay's campaign vehicle, which reportedly did not stop after colliding with motorcycles of his followers. The court directed the registration of a hit-and-run case against the politician, stating that "Both the driver and the leader (Vijay) saw the accident but left the place without stopping".
In their defense, TVK leaders Bussy Anand and CTR Nirmal Kumar, who sought anticipatory bail, claimed that insufficient police deployment was the primary cause of the incident. They also alleged that "goondas" at the event caused injuries with weapons and threw footwear at Vijay, contributing to the chaos. Their plea stated that the power supply was cut just five minutes after Vijay began his speech and asserted that the tragedy could not be attributed to any wilful neglect by TVK officials. The leaders maintained that the sheer scale of the unforeseen crowd was the sole cause of the incident. The Madras High Court denied anticipatory bail to Bussy Anand and CTR Nirmal Kumar.
The State Public Prosecutor stated that five individuals, including TVK general secretary Bussy Anand and deputy general secretary CTR Nirmal Kumar, were named in the FIR, with two arrests made and investigations ongoing.
