Madras HC strikes down order giving government jobs to kin of Karur stampede victims

The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court on Monday struck down a Tamil Nadu government order granting government jobs on compassionate grounds to the family members of the persons who died in the Karur stampede, Live Law reported.

The stampede took place on September 27 at Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam chief Vijay’s rally in Karur district when he was addressing supporters from his campaign vehicle. Forty-one persons had died in the stampede.

Vijay went on to become the chief minister of Tamil Nadu on May 10 after his party became the single-largest party in the Assembly elections.

A division bench of Justices CV Karthikeyan and R Sakthivel held that the appointments of the family members of the victims of the stampede violated constitutional provisions pertaining to the right to equality and the right to equal opportunity in matters of public employment.

The bench observed that many people were waiting for compassionate appointments in government departments.

“When there is a waiting list, it is not appropriate to overlook their needs and extend what is termed as succor to family members of the Karur incident,” Live Law quoted the court as saying.

The court also observed that allowing compassionate appointments in the stampede case could open the floodgates for claims in other cases, such as firework explosions and road accidents. The...

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