In a relief to N. Venkatesan, a member of the Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday granted him bail in a case linked to the September 27 Karur political meeting stampede. Justice S. Srimathy observed that the petitioner had already spent sufficient time in custody and most of the charges were bailable in nature.
Background
The prosecution alleged that chaos erupted during a TVK rally held along the Karur–Erode Highway at Velusamipuram, drawing thousands of supporters. Amid the confusion, an ambulance driver who was assisting injured attendees was allegedly assaulted, and the rear windshield of the ambulance was smashed. Based on this, the Karur Town Police registered Crime No. 864 of 2025 under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Tamil Nadu Public Property (Prevention of Damage and Loss) Act, 1992 (TNPPDL).
Venkatesan, identified as one of the accused, was arrested on October 9 and remanded to judicial custody. His counsel, senior advocate M. Subash Babu, argued that his client was innocent and falsely implicated amid political tensions.
Court’s Observations
Justice Srimathy took note that the first accused in the same case had already been granted bail earlier and that the initial First Information Report (FIR) had been filed only for bailable offences. It was later modified to include Section 3(1) of the TNPPDL Act - the only non-bailable provision in the list.
The Additional Advocate General, Veera Kathiravan, opposed the bail plea, stating that the police intended to seek custodial interrogation. However, the Court pointed out that no such application had been filed as of yet.
“The Court finds that the petitioner has been in custody since 09.10.2025 and that the prosecution has not shown any special circumstance requiring further detention,” the bench observed, indicating that continued incarceration was unwarranted at this stage.
Decision
Granting bail, the Court directed Venkatesan to execute a bond of ₹10,000 with two sureties of like sum before the Judicial Magistrate, Karur. He must also report daily at 10.30 a.m. to the Karur Town Police for one week and thereafter whenever required.
The Court imposed standard conditions - barring the accused from tampering with evidence, contacting witnesses, or absconding. “If any of these conditions are violated, the trial court is free to take action as per law,” Justice Srimathy cautioned, citing the Supreme Court ruling in P.K. Shaji v. State of Kerala (2005).
With that, the Court concluded the matter, granting conditional bail and closing the petition.
Case Title: N. Venkatesan v. State of Tamil Nadu
Case Number: Crl. O.P. (MD) No. 18221 of 2025
Petitioner: N. Venkatesan – Accused and member of Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK)
Respondent: State of Tamil Nadu, represented by the Inspector of Police, Karur Town Police Station
Date of Order: 17 October 2025
