MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Monday struck down the government orders passed by the State granting compassionate appointment to the family members of the individuals who died in a stampede that occurred during an election campaign by the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) on September 27, 2025.
A bench of justices CV Karthikeyan and R Sakthivel held that the appointment was in violation of Articles 14 and 16 of the Indian Constitution.
Pointing out that there are several people on waiting lists for getting compassionate appointments, which are usually granted based on seniority and eligibility, the judges opined that the needs of such people cannot be overlooked to extend succour to family members of those who died in the Karur stampede.
They were also concerned that the GOs would only open floodgates as many people would clamour for compassionate appointments.
"It would give rise to a question if similar relief could be extended to family members of the victims of firecracker accidents, motor accidents, etc," the judges added.
They also disagreed with the comparison made by the Advocate General Vijay Narayan to a GO passed by the state in 1999, granting compassionate appointments to family members of ex-servicemen who died on duty.
"It can never be stated that an army personnel, who died for the cause of the nation, could be equated to the members of the families who died in Karur stampede. We do not say the latter require less consideration. But fallen war heroes stand on a separate footing, and respect should be shown by everybody for their sacrifice," the judges opined and struck down the GOs.
Judges admitted that they are conscious of the fact that they have passed the order without hearing the 32 individuals who were granted the above appointments.
However, they pointed out that even in the first hearing, they had made it clear that the appointments are temporary and would be subject to judicial review.
They refrained from making any further opinion on the Karur incident as the investigation is in progress and the matter is pending before the Supreme Court.
The order was passed on a batch of petitions which sought a direction to forbear the government from providing government employment to the family members of the Karur stampede victims.
They alleged that in the absence of any uniform policy or government order, granting government jobs to the victims of the above tragedy would lead to discrimination and inequality.
They also pointed out that the government has already paid ex-gratia to the victims' families.
