The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Madras High Court’s recent judgment quashing the Tamil Nadu government’s decision to provide compassionate employment to family members of the 41 people who died in the September 2025 Karur stampede.
A Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran passed the interim order on a petition filed by the State government. The Bench issued a notice and stayed the High Court’s judgment. The Supreme Court observed that the government had decided to offer employment to the families in view of the tragic incident.
The Bench questioned why the government shouldn’t provide jobs alongside compensation following such a tragic stampede. Last month, the Madras High Court had held that the appointments could not be sustained, as public employment must comply with Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.
The High Court had also noted that several families of government employees who died while in service were already awaiting compassionate appointments. The State could not overlook their claims while granting jobs to the families of those killed in the stampede, it said.
The judgment was passed on petitions challenging the State government’s decision to provide employment to the families of the 41 victims of the stampede at a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) rally in Karur in September 2025. The tragedy is currently under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
After the TVK, led by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, came to power following the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections in April 2026, the State government decided to provide jobs to the kin of those who died in the stampede.
The petitions before the High Court had argued that compassionate appointments are ordinarily governed by strict rules applicable to dependants of government employees who die while in service.
It was further contended that the victims’ families had already received ex gratia compensation and that granting them employment while the CBI investigation was pending could potentially influence material witnesses.
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