Madras High Court Allows Temporary Appointment Orders to Karur Stampede Victims’ Families, Keeps Final Decision Pending

July 10, 2026 : The Madras High Court on Friday allowed the Tamil Nadu government to distribute government appointment orders to the families of those who lost their lives in the 2025 Karur stampede. However, the Court made it clear that the appointments will remain purely temporary and will be subject to the final outcome of the pending legal proceedings.

A Division Bench comprising Justice C.V. Karthikeyan and Justice R. Sakthivel passed the interim order while hearing a batch of writ petitions challenging the State government’s decision to provide compassionate government employment to the families of the 41 persons who died in the stampede during a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) rally in Karur in September 2025.

The Bench observed that the case raises an important legal question on whether compassionate appointments can be extended to victims of public tragedies in the absence of a statutory framework, executive policy or uniform guidelines. While noting that courts generally exercise limited judicial review over policy decisions, the Bench held that the legality of the government’s decision requires examination in light of constitutional and administrative law principles.

Permitting the government function scheduled for Friday afternoon to proceed, the High Court allowed the distribution of appointment orders but directed that all appointments would remain provisional. The Court also restrained the authorities from releasing the beneficiaries’ first salary until the matter is heard further. The case has been listed for the next hearing on July 21.

The High Court further directed the Tamil Nadu government to submit a detailed report explaining the policy, eligibility criteria and guidelines governing such compassionate appointments, along with clarification on whether those conditions had been satisfied in the present case. The Bench emphasized that appointments to public service must ordinarily remain open to all eligible candidates and that public employment cannot be denied except on constitutionally valid and legally sustainable grounds.

In a significant procedural development, the Court impleaded the Member Secretary of the Supreme Court-appointed supervisory committee overseeing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the Karur stampede as a respondent in the proceedings.

The petitioners argued that compassionate appointment is a narrowly recognized exception to the normal recruitment process and has traditionally been limited to eligible dependants of government employees who die while in service. They contended that extending such appointments to families of victims of a public tragedy without any statutory backing or uniform policy is arbitrary and violates Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before law and equal opportunity in public employment.

The petitioners further submitted that the affected families had already received ex gratia compensation from the State. They also argued that granting government jobs while the CBI investigation into the stampede is still underway could potentially influence material witnesses and affect the fairness of the ongoing criminal investigation.

Opposing the petitions, the Tamil Nadu government argued that similar objections had earlier been raised before the Supreme Court but were subsequently withdrawn with liberty to pursue other legal remedies. The State also relied on past instances where compassionate employment had been granted to families affected by major public tragedies, maintaining that the present decision is a policy measure aimed at providing socio-economic rehabilitation to families who lost their sole breadwinners.

The State government’s decision came after the formation of the TVK government following the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections held in April. Before the High Court passed its interim order, Chief Minister Vijay was scheduled to visit Karur to meet the bereaved families and distribute the appointment orders.

The Karur stampede, which claimed 41 lives during a TVK rally in September 2025, is currently being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation under the supervision of a committee appointed by the Supreme Court.