The reason for the fire was found out to be a short circuit in the electric wire connecting a video camera, which lit up the temporary thatched roof set up in the first level of the hall.
On 14 June 2012, the judge sentenced Ramasamy (65), owner of the wedding hall, to two years rigorous imprisonment and ordered to pay a compensation of ₹50,000 each to the dependents of the victims and ₹10,000 each to those injured in the accident.
The sentence of photographer Dharmaraj was reduced to 6 months by Madras High Court on 10 June 2020 which also ordered disbursement of 40 lakh ₹ to the victims.
Since the crowd was large, the venue of the marriage was shifted to a makeshift open area on the first level of the hall that had a thatched roof.
[2] The fire spread at around 9:15 in the morning quickly to the makeshift stage, thatched roof, plastic chairs and clothing material, killing 30 people on the spot.
[2] The initial investigation by police found the possible reason for the fire to be a short circuit of the wire connecting the videographer's equipment.
The Inspector-General of Police, Central Zone, S. George, informed the media that the low-hanging decorative material probably caught fire owing to the intense heat generated by the video flashgun.
There were four arrests that included the hall manager S. Sadagopan, video light boy R. Balaji, electrician K. Murugesan, and thatch contractor M. Selvam.
[9] The Director of Fire and Rescue Service indicated that the department would conduct minimum safety standard check on all marriage halls in the state.