The Supreme Court has given the Tamil Nadu government four weeks to respond in its appeal against the cancellation of a government order providing compassionate appointments to families of victims of the Karur stampede. The state told the court that its position on the appointments had not changed, even as it sought additional time to file a response to the opposing parties’ submissions.
The case relates to a stampede at a Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam election campaign meeting held in Velusamipuram in Karur district in September last year. According to the report before the court, 41 people died in the crowd incident. The Tamil Nadu government subsequently issued a government order providing government jobs on compassionate grounds to the families of 31 of those who died.
The government order was challenged before the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. The High Court cancelled the order, following which the Tamil Nadu government moved the Supreme Court in appeal. The matter was heard again by a bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Vinod Chandran.
Appearing for the Tamil Nadu government, its lawyers told the bench that the respondents had filed their response only the previous day. They sought an adjournment to prepare and file an appropriate reply to that submission, according to the report. The state argued that additional time was required before the appeal could proceed.
The judges then asked whether the state government remained firm in its decision to provide government employment to the families affected by the Karur incident. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Tamil Nadu, said there had been no change in the state’s position on granting compassionate appointments to the families of those who died.
The bench questioned why the government needed additional time to file a detailed response if its position remained unchanged. After hearing the submissions, the Supreme Court granted the Tamil Nadu government four weeks to respond and postponed the further hearing of the appeal.
The proceedings place the government’s relief decision within a legal question over the validity of appointments made through a special government order after a mass-casualty public event. The immediate issue before the Supreme Court is whether the state’s decision to provide jobs to the families of 31 victims can stand after the Madurai Bench cancelled the order. The next hearing will follow the four-week period granted to the government for its response.
