Cauvery Water Dispute: SC upholds maintainability of appeals by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld its constitutional power to hear maintainability plea of the application by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.

The apex court to hear the maintainability plea on December 15.

Earlier Centre had opposed in the apex court that plea filed Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu was not maintainable.

Supreme Court on Friday reiterated that the order to release 2000 cusecs of water to Tamil Nadu will stand till further orders.

Earlier on October 19, the apex court on reserved order on maintainability on appeal of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala against Tribunal's order of 2007.

The Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal announced its final verdict on 5 February 2007.According to its verdict Tamil Nadu gets 419 TMC of Cauvery water while Karnataka gets 270 TMC. 

The Centre, through Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi, had raised a preliminary objection claiming that the CWDT award amounted to a final decree in the dispute and the apex court had no jurisdiction to hear appeals against the award of the tribunal.

But the states had contended that their appeals were maintainable saying the Supreme Court had the jurisdiction to adjudicate the appeals filed by the state against the award of tribunal and that no statute can take away the appellate powers of the apex court under Article 136 of Constitution.

However, Puducherry supported the stand of the Centre that the appeals filed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are not maintainable.

Earlier, Rohatgi had argued that Supreme Court had no jurisdiction to adjudicate the appeals pertaining to the dispute relating to use, distribution and control of inter-state water or river valley.

The attorney general had said as per the constitutional provisions, the inter-state water dispute tribunal is headed by a retired Supreme Court or High Court judge and its decree has a force like that of a decree of the Supreme Court and thus the apex court cannot hear the appeals against its own order.

(With inputs from PTI)