The Madras High Court on Friday allowed the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led Tamil Nadu government to proceed with its decision to provide government jobs to the families of those who lost their lives in the Karur stampede tragedy in September last year. However, the court made it clear that the appointments would be temporary and remain subject to judicial review. A division bench of Justice C.V. Karthikeyan and Justice R. Sakthivel observed that it would be inappropriate for the court to interfere with a policy decision of the government at this stage and permitted the state to distribute appointment letters at the scheduled public function.

While granting interim relief, the High Court directed that the appointments should not become permanent until the legal issues are examined in detail. The bench also suo motu impleaded the Member Secretary of the Tamil Nadu Public Service Commission and sought a report on the guidelines governing compassionate appointments, including whether the government’s decision in the Karur case complied with existing rules. The court said it intends to hear the matter again before the end of July, before any of the selected candidates receive their first salary.

The order came on a petition filed by advocate Theeran Thirumurugan, who challenged the government’s decision to provide jobs to the families of the 41 victims. The petitioner argued that there is no uniform policy for granting government employment in such tragedies and that such appointments could violate the constitutional principles of equality and equal opportunity under Articles 14 and 16. The Tamil Nadu government defended its decision by informing the court that a similar demand raised before the Supreme Court had been withdrawn and also referred to earlier appointments given to families affected by the Thoothukudi police firing. The High Court, however, noted that the two incidents were distinguishable, observing that the Thoothukudi case involved alleged police excess, whereas the Karur stampede did not.