The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the Madras High Court order that had quashed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay's decision to provide government jobs to relatives of those who died in the Karur stampede last year.
On July 10, Chief Minister Vijay distributed appointment orders to 31 relatives of those who died in the stampede on September 27, 2025 at Karur.
The stampede occurred at a rally addressed by Vijay, leaving 41 people dead and over 60 injured.
A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran issued notice to the petitioners who challenged the government order and others.
"Who are you to question the policy of the government? Suppose the sole member died in the tragedy, shouldn't the government give some employment to son or daughter? the bench told the PIL petitioner who had challenged state government order.
The top court's order came on a petition filed by the State and others challenging the high court's judgment.
The Madras High Court on July 27 had quashed Vijay's order providing government jobs to relatives of people who died in the stampede, observing that it will open floodgates of similar demands.
A division bench comprising Justices CV Karthikeyan and R Sakthivel of the high court had held that it was not appropriate to overlook the needs of many who are waiting to get compassionate appointments in government departments.
The high court had noted that the exercise of executive power must be within the Constitutional limits.
The high court's Madurai Bench cited instances of loss of lives in accidents at firework units and also due to motor accidents.
In such cases, the kin of victims are provided ex-gratia and not jobs on compassionate grounds.
Also, the court said the order providing government jobs to kin of stampede victims will open "floodgates" for others to seek similar employment.
The counsel for petitioners challenging the government's order had contended that about 3.9 million young people in Tamil Nadu remain unemployed and around two million candidates apply for competitive recruitment exams.
Providing government jobs outside the regular recruitment process was unfair and inconsistent with constitutional principles, they contended.
(With inputs from PTI)