The Madras High Court on Friday permitted the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led government to proceed with the distribution of state employment letters to families of the 41 victims who died in the Karur stampede last September. Justices CV Karthikeyan and R Sakthivel of the Madurai bench ruled that the appointments must be temporary and will remain subject to ongoing judicial review. [2026 LiveLaw (Mad) 308]
Court Ruling on Karur Stampede Compensation
The court’s decision allows the state to hold a scheduled public function at 3 p.m. today to issue the appointment letters. However, the bench emphasized that it would be “extremely narrow” for the court to interfere with a policy decision of the government at this stage. The judges mandated that the employment be granted on a temporary basis, ensuring the court can review the legality of the move before any prospective employee receives their first salary. The matter is set for a follow-up hearing by the end of this month.
As part of the proceedings, the court has suo motu impleaded the Member Secretary of the Public Service Commission. The official is required to file a report detailing the guidelines for compassionate appointments and clarifying whether those protocols were followed in this specific instance.
Legal Challenges to Government Appointments
The court’s observations came in response to a petition filed by Theeran Thirumurugan, a Madurai-based lawyer. The petitioner challenged the TVK government’s decision, arguing that the lack of a uniform policy for providing permanent government jobs in cases of tragedy violates the principles of equality and equal opportunity enshrined in Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.
Thirumurugan argued that every qualified individual possesses a constitutional right to compete for public employment. He contended that without a transparent legal framework, the government’s proposal is arbitrary and unreasonable. The petitioner also noted that because proceedings regarding the Karur tragedy are still pending before the Supreme Court, granting irreversible administrative benefits could lead to further legal and administrative complications.
Precedents and Future Judicial Review
During the hearing, the state counsel cited the precedent of providing government jobs to families affected by the Thoothukudi police firing. The court, however, distinguished the two cases, noting that the Thoothukudi incident involved police excess by the State, a factor not present in the Karur stampede.
A possible next step for the court involves evaluating the compliance report from the Public Service Commission.
Related reading