The Karur stampede occurred on September 27 last year during a TVK rally, killing 41 people and injuring several others.
The High Court’s order sets aside the state government’s decision to provide employment to the victims’ families as part of its relief measures.
A division bench of Justice C.V. Karthikeyan and Justice R. Sakthivel held that the appointments violated Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, as per Live Law.
“We hold that these appointments are in direct violation of the guarantee to a citizen of this country under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution,” the court said, report Live Law.
The bench observed that many applicants are awaiting compassionate appointments across government departments, and said it would not be appropriate to overlook their claims by providing employment to the families of the Karur stampede victims.
The court also observed that while the State had invoked its executive powers under Article 162 of the Constitution to issue the appointments, those powers must be exercised within constitutional limits.
The court also questioned why the State chose to offer government jobs instead of providing technical skill development and entrepreneurship training to eligible members of the affected families. It observed that such support could help create self-reliant individuals, entrepreneurs and future job creators, with the government bearing the cost of the training.
The bench further stressed that public employment cannot be distributed at the State’s discretion and must be earned. It noted that many people continue to wait for government jobs, underscoring the need to preserve the value and importance of public employment.
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(Edited by : Prashant)
First Published:Â Jul 27, 2026 5:48 PM IST