The Madras High Court allowed Tamil Nadu to issue compassionate appointment orders to families of the 41 Karur stampede victims but directed that the jobs remain temporary, subject to the outcome of pending proceedings. The Court declined to interfere with the government’s policy decision at this stage.
The Madras High Court permitted the Tamil Nadu government to distribute appointment orders to the family members of those who lost their lives in the Karur stampede, while making it clear that the appointments would remain temporary and subject to the outcome of the pending proceedings before the Court.
A Division Bench comprising Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and R. Sakthivel passed the interim order while hearing petitions challenging the State government’s decision to extend compassionate appointments to the families of the 41 persons who died in the September 2025 tragedy. Although the Court allowed the government function for distributing appointment orders to proceed, it clarified that the appointments would not attain finality until the legal issues surrounding the scheme are decided.
During the hearing, the Bench noted that the State had scheduled a government programme at 3 p.m. on Friday for distributing appointment orders to the beneficiaries. While permitting the event to go ahead, the Court imposed important safeguards, observing that the appointments would remain provisional until further orders.
The Bench remarked,
“It may be extremely narrow for the Court to intervene in a policy decision. But we would permit the function to proceed further with a condition that the employment would only be on a temporary basis, subject to further review.”
The Court further directed that the beneficiaries should not receive their first salary before the matter is taken up again for hearing. The case has now been listed for further consideration on July 21.
The interim order assumes significance as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) founder C. Joseph Vijay is scheduled to visit Karur to personally meet the families of the victims and distribute the government appointment orders. The High Court’s order ensures that the proposed event may proceed as planned, but makes the continuation of employment dependent upon the final outcome of the litigation.
While granting interim permission, the Bench indicated that it would closely examine whether the State possesses a uniform policy permitting compassionate appointments to families affected by public tragedies. The Court directed the Tamil Nadu government to place before it a detailed report explaining:
- the guidelines governing the proposed appointments;
- the legal basis for extending compassionate employment in such cases; and
- whether the prescribed conditions under the policy had been fulfilled in the present matter.
The Bench observed that appointments to public service are ordinarily governed by constitutional principles requiring equal opportunity for all eligible candidates. It emphasised that government employment cannot ordinarily be offered selectively without a legally sustainable framework.
The High Court also expanded the scope of the proceedings by impleading the Member Secretary of the Supreme Court-appointed supervisory committee, which is monitoring the ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the Karur stampede. The committee has been overseeing the investigation pursuant to directions issued earlier by the Supreme Court. Its inclusion as a respondent reflects the Court’s view that the ongoing criminal investigation may have a bearing on issues raised in the present petitions.
The petitions before the High Court question the legality of the State government’s decision to offer compassionate appointments to the families of the deceased. According to the petitioners, compassionate appointments are ordinarily governed by well-established service rules applicable only to the dependants of government employees who die while in service.
They argued that extending similar benefits to victims of a public tragedy, without any existing statutory policy or uniformly applicable guidelines, would violate constitutional guarantees under Articles 14 and 16, which ensure equality before law and equal opportunity in matters of public employment. The petitioners contended that public employment cannot be distributed on an ad hoc basis and that any such scheme must be backed by a transparent and uniformly applicable policy.
Another argument advanced before the Court was that the families of the deceased had already received ex gratia compensation from the government following the tragedy. The petitioners further argued that offering government employment while the CBI investigation into the stampede remains pending could potentially influence material witnesses connected with the criminal case. According to them, such appointments should await completion of the investigation.
Opposing the petitions, the Tamil Nadu government submitted that the decision to grant employment constituted a policy measure taken to provide long-term financial support to families that had lost their primary earning members. The State also informed the Court that similar objections had earlier been raised before the Supreme Court, but the proceedings there were withdrawn with liberty to pursue other legal remedies.
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The government further relied on previous instances in which employment had been granted to families affected by major tragedies, arguing that compassionate assistance in exceptional circumstances has been recognised by governments in the past. According to the State, the appointments are intended purely as a welfare measure and do not violate constitutional principles.
Background of the Karur Stampede
The litigation arises from the Karur stampede that occurred in September 2025 during a public rally organised by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). The tragedy claimed the lives of 41 people, making it one of the deadliest political gathering disasters in recent years.
Following widespread public concern, the Supreme Court transferred the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and constituted a three-member supervisory committee headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Ajay Rastogi to oversee the investigation and ensure its independence.
After the TVK formed the government following its victory in the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, the State announced that compassionate government jobs would be provided to the families of those who had died in the stampede.
That decision has now come under judicial scrutiny before the Madras High Court, which will examine whether such appointments can be made without a comprehensive and uniformly applicable government policy.
Until the issue is finally decided, the Court has permitted distribution of appointment orders while making it clear that the appointments shall remain temporary and subject to further judicial review.
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