KARUR STAMPEDE: MY LORDS! BY CASTING ASPERISONS ON TAMILS, YOU HAVE VIOLATED YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL OATH

 

KARUR STAMPEDE: MY LORDS! BY CASTING ASPERISONS ON TAMILS, YOU HAVE VIOLATED YOUR CONSTITUTIONAL OATH

By

A.JAISON, M.A.,B.L.,

Writer, Ambedkarite, Social Activist &

Member, Social Justice Monitoring Committee, Govt. of Tamil Nadu : 22.10.2025

 

I have read the judgment dated 13.10.2025 of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter of Karur Stampede and direction for CBI Investigation under the sole supervision of Justice Ajay Rastogi, former Judge of Supreme Court of India (Ref:Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam vs P.H.Dinesh & Ors and connected Writ Petitions).  As a true citizen of India, I am deeply perturbed after reading the judgment as, for me, my country is above everything and everybody, howsoever high he is.  Hence, I have chosen to pen this write-up in the form of/ as if a submission made before the very same Hon’ble Bench of the Supreme Court:

My Lords!  Having thoroughly read the judgment of the Bench comprising of your Lordships   (Hon’ble Justices Mr.J.K.Maheshwari and Mr.N.V.Anjaria of the Supreme Court) and having been perturbed by certain orders passed therein, I, in the interest of preserving and adhering to the Constitution of India and the esteem of the Judiciary itself, in particular the Supreme Court of India and precisely in the interest of your Lordships too, hereby rise to make the following submissions:

My Lords! I have chosen to not comment on the recital of the brief facts of the case as summarized by your Lordships but to confine only to certain orders passed by your Lordships which are not acceptable and appreciable under any stretch of imagination and flexibility as it amounts to assault on the Federalism and casting grave aspersions on over 8 crore Tamils, which, if accepted without questioning, will become the worst precedent to be cited by the current Judges as well as future judges all over the country effectively damaging the regional, linguistic and cultural balances,  values and ethos of our country. Hence, my submissions:

In accordance with the legal maxim, “A judge should have two salts, - the salt of wisdom, lest he be insipid, and the salt of conscience, lest he be devilish” (Judex habere debet duos sales; salem sapientiae, ne sit insipidus, et salem conscientiae, ne sit diabolus).  Therefore, a Judge is supposed to have the combined virtues of wisdom and conscience.  Neither of the two, if left alone, will augur well for the justice delivery system and I am sure your Lordships, notwithstanding this judgment which I dissent to, possess both these virtues.  But still being aggrieved with your judgment on the following two counts, I make these submissions:

Your Lordships have rightly chosen to extract para 70 of the Supreme Court judgment in State of West Bengal. vs Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights (2010) 3 SCC 517 decided on 17.02.2010 which is akin to sympathizing with CBI which should not be “..flooded with a large number of cases and with limited resources, may find it difficult to properly investigate  even serious cases and in the process lose its credibility and purpose with unsatisfactory investigations.”  Yet, your Lordships, in your own wisdom, may be on deciding the applicability of the above view in a case to case basis, have chosen to transfer this case to CBI and I am in full agreement with your Lordships’ order in this regard.

I am also in agreement with your Lordships when you have annulled the appointment of SIT or one-man inquiry commission as too many investigations will lead to clash of views and conclusions which will become unwarranted.  Furthermore, when the Supreme Court is seized of the matter, others, being subordinate, are bound to become irrelevant and hence your orders  annulling or suspending other investigations and inquiry are acceptable.

When the State Police are perceived to be not trustable and in order to repose confidence in the general public and more so in the victims and their dependents as well, CBI investigation is ordered.  But again when the CBI is directed to investigate, the CBI investigation might also be ordered to be monitored by the Hon’ble Supreme Court itself as has been done in many cases. Why your Lordships “… have requested Hon’ble Mr.Justice Ajay Rastogi (Retd.) who has agreed to head the Committee”, it is quite shocking to note why your Lordships have not thought of some other Judge, when this Judge is surrounded by controversy emanating from the judgment in Radheshyam Bhagwandas Shah vs State of Gujarat & Anr dated  May 13, 20222 authored by him and concurred by Hon’ble Mr.Justice Vikram Nath which has become the  basis  for releasing the 11 cantankerous and heartless criminals jailed in Bilkis Banu’s case and whose judgment was fortunately reversed on January 08, 2024 by the Hon’ble  Supreme Court bench comprising of  Hon’ble Mrs.Justice B.V.Nagarathna and Hon’ble Mr.Justice Ujjal Bhuyan. If your Lordships had requested any other non-controversial judge, there could not have been wide criticism, discussion and debate in the print, electronic and social media on the choice of the Judge.  

As Lord Hewart, former Chief Justice of England has laid down the legal dictum  in the case of Rex vs Sussex Justices (1924) which has been universally accepted, “Justice is not only to be done, but must also be seen to be done” to all parties. The choice of Hon’ble Mr Justice Ajay Rastogi has fuelled controversies and runs against this dictum.  It may not be out of context to submit here, that “Caesar’s wife’s must be above suspicion” and this is applicable to everyone- be he from judiciary, executive and legislature- who sits on judgment of an issue.  This phrase effectively means that people in positions of power, as well as their associates, must avoid not only wrong-doing itself but also the appearance and implications of it.  

As a sequel to the above, another pertinent point submitted before your Lordships is: In Manohar Lal Sharma vs The Principal Secretary & Others (2014) (Coal block allocation scam) along with which the Writ Petition of Common Cause And Ors vs Union of India and Ors was also clubbed, decided on August 25, 2014 by the bench of Hon’ble CJI  R.M.Lodha & Mr.Justice Madan B Lokur, the CJI sarcastically remarked that CBI was akin to a “caged parrot speaking in the master’s voice.”  This comment was directed against the then political establishment and now the same comment may also be applied to the Committee headed by Mr.Justice Ajay Rastogi and or the present political establishment as he is vested with vast and overriding powers to decide the course of the investigation such as: “The Committee shall have liberty to review the evidence collected by the CBI…”, “ The Committee may undertake an inquiry into any matter ancillary/ incidental to the Karur stampede…” and “The Committee shall devise its own procedure as per the directions of the Hon’ble former Judge”  and so on.  Effectively, the CBI can do nothing on its own, however fair and meticulous it may be in the investigation.

While granting bail to the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on September, 2014 in the alleged Delhi liquor policy ‘scam’,  Hon’ble Mr.Justice Ujjal Bhuyan (of the Bench comprising of Hon’ble Mr.Justice Surya Kant also) has recalled and written in his order, “Not so long ago, this Court had castigated the CBI comparing it to a caged parrot”.  The most damning part of the Interim Order was when your Lordships said: “We further request him to choose two Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) Officers not below the rank of Inspector General of Police, who may be of Tamil Nadu cadre but shall not be a native of Tamil Nadu, as per the choice of the Hon’ble former Judge.” This is nothing but a serious aspersion on the IPS Officers of Tamil origin.  The Civil Servants are also the Constitutional appointees and if so why should there be an open distrust on the Tamil Nadu- native IPS Officers?  Even the non-Tamil Nadu-native IPS offices are also under the overall control of the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu and DGP/ Head of Police Forces and will they not have fear for these bosses? Is it the end-all-game for these two IGs in their career?  I am therefore of the considered view that this order exhibits the bias against the IPS Officers of native of Tamil Nadu and ultimately the Tamil people and therefore I pray for revisiting the same in order that the sentiments of the Tamil people are not blatantly injured.

Under Article 141 of the Constitution, “The law declared by the Supreme Court shall be binding on all courts within the territory of India” and if this specific order is taken as a precedent, will it not then open a Pandora box for future judicial chaos with the following possibilities? : “… shall not be a native of Andhra Pradesh; … shall not be a native of Karnataka; … shall not be a native of Kerala; … shall not be a native of Telangana; …. shall not be a native of Maharashtra; …..  shall not be a native of Punjab; … shall not be a native of Kashmir; …. shall not be a native of Uttar Pradesh; ….  shall not be a native of Gujarat” and so on and so forth. This biased and divisive approach is against the spirit of the Constitution and Federalism and as such your Lordships’ orders are against the oath you have undertaken while sworn in as Judges.    

Here, it is pertinent to recall the aspersions made by the Prime Minister Modi during the 18^th Lok Sabha electioneering in Odisha. It was squarely and baselessly blamed: ‘The missing keys of Puri Jagannath Temple had gone to Tamil Nadu’ and it was a jibe at Mr.V.K.Pandian,I.A.S.,of Tamil Nadu origin, a key aide to the Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.  A politician could make such an unfounded and baseless aspersion of divisiveness and hatred; a bureaucrat in the Executive may also indulge in such things. But the Supreme Court is considered to be the topmost and only irreconcilable guardian of the Constitution and thus effectively the country itself by way of reprimanding the erring political establishment and the executive and thus is a sacred pillar of checks and balances.  It is quite shocking to note that such an order despising, degrading and belittling Tamil people and their sentiments has been passed by your Lordships. India is fortunate to have Tamil Nadu. The Tamils have not revolted against the Prime Minister and the Supreme Court despite the bitter fact that they have been wounded. Perhaps they know what is nationalism, national integration, country’s sovereignty and patriotism and not as a rhetoric or empty sloganeering.  Had such comments been made against any other State, situation would have become explosive and volatile endangering the integrity of our country.  The patience of Tamil people should not be misconstrued as weakness.   Hence, I pray for reviewing your orders on the aforesaid two counts.  In India, I am a Tamil first and Indian next and when I go abroad, I am Indian first and a Tamil next. But adhering to the ideology of Dr.Babasaaheb Ambedkar, “I am Indian first, Indian last and nothing else but Indian” and therefore I am more interested in the Sovereignty and Integrity of India meaning all States should be equally and fairly treated by all to have a strong and united India because India, that is Bharat,  is a Union of States.

That’s all my submissions, My Lords!