Madras HC Quashes Govt Jobs for Relatives of Karur Stampede Victims

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday set aside a state government order providing government jobs to the relatives of individuals who died in the Karur stampede. A division bench comprising Justice CV Karthikeyan and Justice R Sakthivel held that the government order was in direct violation of the Constitution, delivering a setback to the decision made by the state administration.

Holding that the appointments breached constitutional mandates, the division bench ruled that granting public employment specifically to the kin of the Karur stampede victims violated Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution. These constitutional provisions guarantee equality before the law and equal opportunity for citizens in public employment. "We hold that these appointments are in direct violation of the guarantee to a citizen of this country under Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution," the Bench stated, according to news agency PTI.

The court emphasized that the exercise of executive power must remain strictly within constitutional limits. In its ruling, the bench highlighted the issue of existing waiting lists for compassionate appointments within various government departments. The judges observed that it was not appropriate to overlook the needs of people already waiting for compassionate appointments in government departments and extend what was termed as succor to family members of the Karur incident.

The court also cautioned against the potential consequences of the government order, noting that providing government jobs to victims' families in this context could open the "floodgates" for victims of other tragedies to seek similar appointments. The bench pointed to other tragic occurrences, including fatal accidents at firework manufacturing units and motor vehicle accidents, where families of the deceased are generally provided with ex-gratia financial assistance rather than government jobs on compassionate grounds.

Instead of offering direct government employment, the High Court suggested alternative support measures that the state government could consider for the affected families. The bench noted that the government could instead look into funding technical courses and providing entrepreneurship training for eligible members of the families affected by the Karur stampede.