New Delhi: The government job orders issued to the families of those who died in the Karur stampede were not on compassionate grounds, but rather a measure for the rehabilitation of the family; therefore, an appeal has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the order of the Chennai High Court.
In Karur district’s Velusamipuram, 41 people died and more than 140 were injured in a stampede at a TVK campaign rally attended by the current Chief Minister Vijay last September. CBI officials are investigating the matter as per the Supreme Court’s order.
Meanwhile, after the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam won the legislative assembly election in Tamil Nadu and formed the government, Chief Minister Vijay, who visited Karur on July 10 this year, issued an appointment order for a government job on compassionate grounds to one member of the family of a person who lost their life in the TVK stampede.
Following this, three people, including Naam Tamilar Katchi’s Dheeran Thirumurugan and Madurai-based lawyer Seeni Ahmed, filed a public interest petition in the Madurai Bench of the High Court against this action. The High Court, which heard the case, had ordered the cancellation of the government order issued to provide government jobs to the family members of those who lost their lives in the Karur stampede. Following this, the Tamil Nadu government filed an appeal in the Supreme Court in this matter.
In this situation, against the High Court’s order in the matter of cancellation of appointment orders, those affected by the cancellation of appointment orders, Prabhakaran Selvakumar and P. Anand Jothi, have separately filed appeals in the Supreme Court. In it, as far as Anand Jothi is concerned, he has stated that he lost his wife and two children in the Karur stampede.
In his petition, he said, “I have now been appointed as a Junior Assistant in the School Education Department office. But it has been cancelled by the Madras High Court. The Madras High Court has stated that the government-issued appointment order was given on compassionate grounds and therefore violates Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.
This is the Madras High Court’s incorrect view. Moreover, the appointment order issued by the government was not on compassionate grounds. Rather, it was issued to provide livelihood support to a family and to rehabilitate the family.
Therefore, the order of the Chennai High Court is against natural justice, and the court has exceeded its jurisdiction by interfering with the government’s policy decisions. Therefore, a stay should be imposed on the Chennai High Court order that cancelled the issuance of the work order in the Karur matter,’ he said. Following this, the cases filed by the petitioners are expected to come up for hearing soon in the Supreme Court.
