New Delhi, July 8 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday disapproved of the DMK's attempt to seek judicial restraint on Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay and other Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) leaders from making public statements on the Karur stampede, observing that the apex court could not be converted into a "political fora" to settle political battles. A bench of justices KV Viswanathan and Alok Aradhe declined to entertain the application, repeatedly underlining that it would neither curtail free speech nor issue directions that ran contrary to its earlier orders directing a court-monitored CBI investigation into the tragedy. Faced with the bench's strong observations, senior advocate Ranjit Kumar, appearing for DMK Rajya Sabha MP RS Bharathi, withdrew the application, with liberty to pursue any other remedy available in law. The Karur stampede took place on September 27 last year during a TVK rally attended by Vijay, then the party president and now the chief minister. The tragedy claimed 41 lives and left over 100 persons injured....