TN stampede: CM Stalin announces ₹10 lakh ex gratia, orders judicial probe
Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Sunday expressed deep grief over the stampede at a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) campaign meeting in Karur that claimed 36 lives and left 58 others injured.
The incident occurred on Saturday night when thousands gathered to hear TVK chief and actor-turned-politician Vijay, leading to sudden chaos and a deadly crush.
In a statement, Stalin described the tragedy as “unprecedented” and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families. He announced an ex gratia of ₹10 lakh each to the families of the deceased and ₹1 lakh each for the seriously injured, with all medical expenses to be borne by the government.
To examine lapses in crowd management and event safety, Stalin has ordered a judicial inquiry headed by retired Madras High Court judge Justice Aruna Jagadeesan.
Senior ministers Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi and Ma. Subramanian rushed to Karur to oversee rescue and medical operations, while additional teams of doctors and paramedics were deployed from nearby districts.
Stalin is expected to visit Karur tonight to meet the injured and console the families of the victims. Police have cordoned off the venue and launched an investigation into the collapse of crowd control measures.
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Judiciary needs to function like 24x7 hospitals to address common man's pain, aspirations: CJI
Jabalpur (PTI): Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Saturday said it was time for the judiciary to address the pain and aspirations of the common man through an immediate relief-giving mechanism, and stressed the need for the judicial system to function like hospitals that work round-the-clock.
He said technology was the only effective answer to wastage of judiciary's time, and called for deepening technology and artificial intelligence (AI)-based judicial architecture to expedite justice delivery.
The CJI was speaking at a programme organised by the Madhya Pradesh High Court on "Fragmentation to fusion, Empowering justice via united digital platform integration". He also launched the high court's newly-developed digital platforms.
"Indian judiciary is committed to ensuring optimum utilisation of not only technological advancements that have been going on and which are integral part of our system since 1990, but also of latest AI designs and how we can use them for the benefit of the common man," he said.
"We should think of deepening technology and AI-based judicial architecture. Technology is the only effective answer to wasting judicial time," CJI Kant said.
The time has come when the judiciary needs to address the aspirations, requirements, demands, pain and agony of the common man through an immediate relief-giving system, he said.
"For that, the judiciary needs to work like hospitals that function 24x7," he added.
Recalling the COVID-19 pandemic, the CJI said the Indian judiciary was praised globally for discharging its constitutional duties during difficult times.
"We did not close our courts," he said, elaborating on how technology enabled courts to conduct urgent hearings during the pandemic.
He stressed the need to make use of technological advancements in judiciary for expediting the justice delivery system.
Praising Madhya Pradesh HC for developing digital platforms, the CJI said that as stated by the Union Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, there was a need to roll out these technological advancements at the pan-India level.
A committee has been constituted by the Supreme Court on how to use AI for the benefit of the judicial system, especially in speedy disposal of cases, according to him.
Minister Meghwal, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav and MP High Court Chief Justice Sanjeev Sabharwal also spoke on the occasion.
