The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed a Madras High Court order that the Tamil Nadu government accommodate 13,000 dismissed welfare workers by creating posts, in the name of Makkal Nala Paniyalargal, to sensitise the public to the evils of liquor consumption.
A Bench of Justices Anil R. Dave and U.U. Lalit directed the Tamil Nadu Makkal Nala Paniyalargal Munnetra Sangam, represented by senior counsel P. Wilson, to file its response to the State government’s petition. It scheduled a hearing for October 27.
A Division Bench of the High Court had asked the State to absorb the workers, removed on November 8, 2011 by the AIADMK government, in suitable posts at government schools and local and government institutions, considering their age and educational qualification. It had directed the State to start the process immediately and complete it by October 31.
If not, the State should pay their last drawn salary from November 2014 till they were accommodated somewhere. The order came after the Sangam contended that the government had removed them without considering their long years of service.
