New Delhi, 14 August (H.S.):

The Supreme Court on Friday granted relief to the Tamil Nadu government by staying the Madras High Court’s order that had barred the state from providing compassionate appointments to the families of victims of the Karur stampede.

A Bench headed by Justice J.B. Pardiwala stayed the High Court’s decision restraining the Tamil Nadu government from offering jobs to the victims’ family members on compassionate grounds.

During the hearing, senior advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Mukul Rohatgi and Vrinda Bhandari, appearing for the Tamil Nadu government, argued that if the state government wanted to provide compassionate assistance after a death under Article 162 of the Constitution, the High Court could not interfere with such a decision.

Appearing on behalf of a political party, advocate Velan argued that compassionate appointments could not be granted solely at the discretion of the state government. He further contended that the political party allegedly responsible for the stampede was now in power in the state, making it a case of conflict of interest.

The court then asked Velan whom he was representing. When he clarified that he was appearing on behalf of a political party, Justice Pardiwala questioned the relevance of the political party's role in the matter.

The court observed that if the government was providing employment to the families of victims of an accident, there should not be any difficulty with such a measure.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar