The Madras High Court has granted the Tamil Nadu government, led by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), the authority to issue government job appointments to the families of those who lost their lives in the Karur stampede the previous year. However, this approval is conditional, as the court has ruled that the appointments will be temporary and subject to future judicial review. The ruling was delivered by a Division Bench consisting of Justices CV Karthikeyan and R Sakthivel during a hearing at the Madurai Bench on Friday.

The court stated that it would be “extremely narrow” for it to interfere with a well-established policy decision made by the government. Consequently, the Bench allowed the state to proceed with a public event scheduled for Friday afternoon during which appointment letters were to be distributed to the families of the deceased. The court emphasised that the employment would be granted on a temporary basis, dependent on the outcome of the judicial review that is set to be conducted by the end of the month.

Details of the Petition and Challenges Raised

This decision follows a petition filed by Theeran Thirumurugan, a lawyer based in Madurai. The petitioner challenged the government’s plan to provide jobs to the families of the 41 individuals who lost their lives in the Karur stampede, which occurred in September last year. He requested the court to impose restrictions on the state government from issuing or executing appointment orders until the related inquiries regarding the tragedy before the Supreme Court have been concluded.

The petitioner contended that there is currently no uniform policy governing the granting of permanent government employment to victims’ families in such incidents. He argued that by offering jobs in this particular instance, the state might contravene constitutional principles concerning equality and equal opportunity as stipulated in Articles 14 and 16. Additionally, the petition pointed out that every qualified citizen should have the right to compete for public employment, and the absence of defined policies governing such exceptions could render the government’s actions arbitrary and unconstitutional.

Furthermore, the petitioner posited that since matters pertaining to the Karur tragedy are still under consideration by the Supreme Court, issuing permanent employment at this stage could lead to unresolvable legal and administrative challenges.

Government’s Response and Court Observations

In response to the allegations, the state government informed the court that there had previously been an intervention application submitted to the Supreme Court which questioned the proposed appointments. However, this application was later withdrawn. The government referenced past precedents where jobs had been allocated to the families of victims from the Thoothukudi police firing incident as a basis for their actions.

Despite this, the Bench clarified its stance by distinguishing between the two events, noting that the Thoothukudi incident involved alleged state excesses, a classification that did not apply to the Karur stampede. The tragic event, in September 2025, resulted in the loss of 41 lives and prompted the state government to announce financial support as well as job provisions for the bereaved families. However, the legality and permanence of these job offers remain under judicial scrutiny.

As the court prepares to review the matter further, the outcomes of these appointments may significantly impact both the families involved and the legal framework governing compassionate appointments in Tamil Nadu.

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