Madras HC Strikes Down Tamil Nadu CM Vijay's Decision to Provide Govt Jobs For Families of Karur Stampede Victims
New Delhi: The Madras high court on Monday (July 27) struck down the Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK)-led government’s decision to provide state government jobs to the families of those who were killed in the Karur rally of chief minister C. Joseph Vijay last year.
While pronouncing the verdict, a division bench of Justices C.V Karthikeyan and R. Sakthivel said that the Tamil Nadu government’s order granting jobs to the families of the 41 victims who died in the stampede was contrary to Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, which pertain to guaranteeing equality before law and equal opportunity in public employment, reported Indian Express.
“There are many who wait seeking employment,” said the court.
It added that public jobs “are not to be thrown away by the state” but must be earned through the constitutional framework governing recruitment.
“If executive action were to be left unfettered and given free hand, chaos will reign,” added the court.
The court struck down the state government’s decision while hearing public interest petitions filed by advocate Theeran Thirumurugan, who argued that the decision to provide government jobs to the families of Karur stampede victims did not fall within any recognised exception warranting a separate category of public employment, and there was already an established statutory framework which governs compassionate appointments.
The court said that if the present appointments in the Karur case are permitted, then it would inevitably open the door to similar demands after tragedies, including industrial accidents, fireworks explosions and motor accidents where victims had received ex gratia compensation but not government employment.
On July 11, during his first visit to Karur since the stampede last year on September 27, Tamil Nadu chief minister Vijay had met the families of the victims and handed over government job appointment orders to their relatives who are eligible under the state’s rehabilitation scheme.
The chief minister also announced a memorial on behalf of his party TVK for the victims of the stampede.
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