SC clears jobs for Karur stampede victims by Vijay government
What's the story
The Supreme Court has stayed the Madras High Court's order quashing the Tamil Nadu government's decision to provide compassionate appointments to families of those killed in the 2025 Karur stampede. The stay was granted by a bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran on a petition filed by the state government. "Stampede took placed. Unfortunate incident happened. The government has decided to compensate them. Should government not give employment?" the dench remarked while staying the order.
HC judgment
Madras High Court struck down government's decision
Senior Advocate Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi represented the state, questioning why employment should be denied to these families after such a tragic incident.
The Madras High Court had earlier struck down the government's decision, citing violations of Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.
The court observed that many other persons, whose family members had died while in government service, were awaiting such appointments, and granting jobs to Karur victims' families would be unfair.
Tragic event
Tragic stampede during TVK rally in September 2025
The stampede occurred during a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) rally in Karur on September 27, 2025, killing 41 people. The tragedy led to political debates over accountability and crowd management.
After the TVK came to power in April 2026, it decided to provide jobs to victims' kin as compensation.
However, petitions against this decision argued that compassionate appointments are usually subject to strict rules for dependents of government employees who die while in service.
Legal proceedings
CBI probing stampede incident
The petitions also argued that the families had already received compensation and granting employment while the CBI investigation was pending could influence material witnesses.
Today, the top court questioned what the problem is with the state giving jobs to the victims.
Justice Pardiwala said, "Who are you to question the policy of the government...Suppose if the sole earning member has died in the stampede...shouldn't the government give some employment to son or daughter or wife as per their educational [qualifications]?"