The Supreme Court on Thursday granted an interim stay on the Madras High Court (Madurai Bench) order that had set aside compassionate government job appointments given to the families of those who died in the Karur crowd crush.
The appointments were issued by the Tamil Nadu government for the victims’ families following a campaign meeting of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam in Karur, where a crowd crush led to fatalities. Chief Minister Vijay had handed over the appointment orders.
Public interest petitions challenging the appointments were filed before the Madurai Bench by individuals including a Naam Tamilar Katchi functionary from Madurai, as well as petitioners from Dindigul district. A division bench of Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and R. Sakthivel quashed the appointments, observing that the government could instead have supported the families through skill development training.
The Tamil Nadu government appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that courts should not interfere in policy decisions and that a PIL on employment matters was not maintainable. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi appeared for the state.
A bench comprising Justices P.S. Narasimha? (not mentioned) — actually Justices Pardiwala and Vinod Chandran — stayed the High Court’s order and questioned the basis for objecting to jobs for families affected by a tragedy, noting that the Karur incident should not be politicised.
