Major victory for TVK govt: Supreme Court stays Madras HC order on Karur stampede jobs
The Supreme Court on Friday put on hold the Madras High Court’s decision that had invalidated the Tamil Nadu government’s move to offer jobs to families of the 41 people who died in the Karur stampede.
The bench questioned why the government should be stopped from extending employment assistance to families that may have lost their only earning member. Justice J B Pardiwala observed that if the government had chosen to provide financial compensation instead, there would likely have been no objection. He also asked why employment could not be offered to a qualified son, daughter or spouse when a family had lost its sole breadwinner.
The stampede occurred in Karur on September 27, 2025, during a political rally organised by Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam founder C Joseph Vijay ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. Forty-one people died and several others were injured.
After the election victory of the TVK, Vijay announced that eligible relatives of the victims would receive government employment. Following his assumption of office as Tamil Nadu’s chief minister on May 10, appointment orders were subsequently handed over to 31 relatives.
The Madras High Court had struck down the policy on July 27, warning that such appointments could encourage similar demands in the future. The Division Bench of Justices C V Karthikeyan and R Sakthivel had held that giving jobs outside the normal recruitment process could disadvantage candidates already waiting for employment opportunities.
The High Court had also concluded that the appointments were inconsistent with the constitutional principles of equality and equal opportunity in public employment under Articles 14 and 16.