The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Friday turned down an appeal to stay the Tamil Nadu government's decision to offer government jobs to 32 members from the families of the 41 people killed in the stampede at the TVK rally in Karur last year. According to Live Law, a Division Bench of Justices CV Karthikeyan and R Sakthivel permitted the Vijay government to proceed with the public function scheduled for 3 pm on Friday, where Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay would hand over appointment letters to beneficiaries from the families of the deceased. The court made it clear that the appointments would be temporary and remain subject to judicial review until a final decision is taken in the pending case. The Bench observed that it would be "extremely narrow" for the court to interfere with a policy decision of the government and allowed the public function to proceed.
The court made it clear that the appointments would be temporary and remain subject to judicial review until a final decision is taken in the pending case. As reported by Live Law, the ruling allows the Tamil Nadu government to issue the appointment letters while maintaining judicial oversight of the process. The court directed that the appointments should not create any permanent or vested rights, and while the appointees will receive salaries, their employment will remain temporary and subject to the final outcome of the writ petition. The Bench also indicated that it intends to hear and decide the matter before the end of the month, preferably before the newly appointed employees receive their first month's salary. The court has now clarified that beneficiaries should not receive their first salary before the case is heard again, with the matter next scheduled for hearing on July 21.
The petition was filed by NTK leader Theeran Thirumurugan and Manithaneya Jananayaga Katchi member Seeni Ahamed, who argued that granting government jobs exclusively to the families of Karur stampede victims violates Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, as the state has no uniform policy governing such appointments. The petitioners contended that selectively offering public employment in tragedy cases could breach the principles of equality and equal opportunity. They argued that such recruitment would bypass the same process done through the TNPSC and set a bad precedent, as eligible job aspirants have a constitutional right to compete for public employment. The petitioners also argued that the families had already received ex gratia compensation, and that granting employment while the CBI investigation was pending could influence material witnesses and compromise the fairness of the ongoing CBI probe into the stampede.
The court's decision permits the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led Tamil Nadu government to continue with the appointment process for the families of stampede victims. According to Live Law, the ruling allows the government to proceed with its compassionate employment policy while the legal challenge remains under judicial consideration. The court has now impleaded the Member Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission as a party in the case and asked him to submit a report on the rules for compassionate appointments and whether those rules were followed in this case. The government's decision to extend jobs to the kin of those who died in the September 2025 stampede at a TVK rally in Karur was made after the TVK came to power following the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections held in April. The State also cited previous instances in which employment had been offered to the families of persons killed in tragedies, maintaining that the decision was a policy measure intended to support families that had lost their earning members.
