The Madras High Court's Madurai Bench on Monday set aside a Tamil Nadu government order that granted compassionate government appointments to the families of those who died in the Karur stampede tragedy in September last year, holding that the decision violated the constitutional principles governing public employment.

A division bench comprising Justice C.V. Karthikeyan and Justice R. Sakthivel ruled that the government order was contrary to Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution, which guarantee equality before the law and equal opportunity in public employment.

The court observed that compassionate appointments are governed by specific rules and are intended to address limited circumstances. It noted that several eligible applicants across government departments are already awaiting such appointments and said it would be inappropriate to overlook their claims by extending the benefit through a separate government order in the Karur stampede case.

More details awaited….