Who Is Justice Aruna Jagadeesan? Madras HC Judge Appointed To Probe Vijay's Karur Stampede Tragedy

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Retired Madras High Court Judge Justice Aruna Jagadeesan will lead the probe into the "stampede" that took place at actor-politician Vijay's Karur rally on Saturday, September 27.

The Tamil Nadu government announced the formation of a one-member Commission of Inquiry under Jagadeesan that will conduct a thorough investigation and submit a report to the Centre.

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As many as 40 people died and 67 were undergoing treatment after a stampede took place during actor Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) rally in Karur. Overcrowding, Vijay's late arrival and "mismanagement" were held responsible for the deadly incident.

The Commission, led by retired judge Aruna Jagadeesan, is expected to launch probe into the mishap on Sunday, September 28. Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin said the Commission would arrive in Karur later in the day to probe the stampede incident.

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Justice Aruna Jagadeesan is a former Madras High Court Judge. She served as a Puisne Judge at the high court from 2009 till 2015.

She has led several high-profile cases and headed many commissions for the state government.

Justice Jagadeesan is best known as the chairperson of the one-woman commission that probed the 2018 police firing on anti-Sterlite protesters in Thoothukudi , which resulted in the killing of 13 civilians. Over 100 people were injured in the incident.

Her report found that the firing was unprovoked and that excessive force was used. It recommended action against 17 police officials, including IPS officers.

Justice Aruna Jagadeesan had also delivered judgment on appeals filed by former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa and her associates.

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Earlier, she presided over the appeal in the 2002 custodial death of Karuppi, a Dalit woman, where she overturned the lower court conviction and acquitted eight policemen due to lack of evidence, as Oneindia reported.

According to NDTV, Justice Jagadeesan was part of a High Court bench that gave a clean chit to Chennai Police in 2015, in connection with the alleged fake encounter at Velachery, where five men suspected of bank robbery were killed.

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