Madras HC allows temporary jobs for Karur stampede victims' families
What's the story
The Madras High Court has allowed the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led state government to offer jobs to the families of victims who died in the Karur stampede last September. The court, however, clarified that these appointments would be temporary and subject to judicial review. The decision was taken by a bench of Justice CV Karthikeyan and Justice R Sakthivel at the Madurai bench.
Judicial review
Court's observations
The court observed that it would be "extremely narrow for the court to interfere with a policy decision of the government." It allowed the state to hold a public function at 3:00pm on Friday to distribute appointment letters to families of deceased victims. The bench also suo motu impleaded the Member Secretary of the Public Service Commission, asking him to submit a report on guidelines for compassionate appointments and their adherence in this case.
Legal challenge
Petition filed by Madurai lawyer
The court's decision came in response to a petition filed by Madurai-based lawyer Theeran Thirumurugan. The petitioner had challenged the TVK government's move to give jobs to families of 41 Karur stampede victims. He argued that there is no uniform policy for permanent government employment in such cases, raising concerns over equality under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.
Appointment concerns
Petitioner expressed concerns over irreversibility of benefits
Thirumurugan also contended that every qualified individual has a constitutional right to compete for public employment. He argued there were no uniform guidelines for such appointments, making the proposal arbitrary and unreasonable. The petitioner had sought directions to the concerned authorities to forbear from issuing or implementing any Government appointment order till proceedings before the Supreme Court were completed.