Cauvery water dispute: SC reiterates order to release 2000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu

The Supreme Court on Friday asked Karnataka to release 2000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu.

The Apex court said, "the order to release 2000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu will stand till further orders".

It upheld the appeals filed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala against the 2007 award of the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal (CWDT) on sharing the river water.

A three-judge bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra said that all the appeals filed by the southern states against the Tribunal's award are maintainable, though the Centre had asserted that the apex court had no jurisdiction to hear appeals against the award of the tribunal.

"We hold all the appeals maintainable. Interim order to continue. List the matter for further hearing on December 15," a bench also comprising justices Amitava Roy amd A M Khanwilkar.

Centre had opposed in Supreme Court stating that plea filed by Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu was not maintainable.

Quoting Section 6 (2) of the 1956 Act, the Centre had said it was left to the government to frame a scheme for the implementation of the award, and the scheme, once prepared, would be placed before both Houses of Parliament for approval. It argued that the tribunal took on the mantle of the Supreme Court and its award should be treated as the latter’s judgment. Any appeal, therefore, to the Supreme Court against the tribunal’s award would tantamount to an appeal to the Supreme Court challenging its own decision, Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi submitted, according to a report in PTI.

All the three states have opposed the Centre’s stand, contending that a parliamentary law cannot stop the Supreme Court from exercising its constitutional power to hear appeals.

Next date of hearing in the matter has been scheduled for December 15.