In a recent development, two Supreme Court judges have decided to recuse themselves from hearing the inter-state water dispute over the Pennaiyar river, citing their origins from the rival states involved in the case.
The case was scheduled to be heard by a bench comprising Justices AS Bopanna and MM Sundresh. However, the judges themselves pointed out the potential conflict.
“We both cannot hear,” said Justice Sundresh, who hails from Tamil Nadu.
“We will start fighting,” added Justice Bopanna, who is from Karnataka, in a lighter vein.
The dispute pertains to the sharing of water from the Pennaiyar river. The Tamil Nadu government had filed an original suit in the matter against the Karnataka government and the Central government. The river is known as the Pennaiyar in Tamil Nadu and referred to as Dakshina Pinakini in Kannada.
The Union Jal Shakti Ministry informed the apex court on Tuesday that the Union Cabinet has not yet made a final decision on the proposal to form a Pennaiyar Water Disputes Tribunal, although the proposal has been sent for approval via the Cabinet Secretariat.
In November 2022, the Court expressed dissatisfaction with the Centre for the delay in resolving the inter-state dispute through negotiations. Earlier, in January 2019, the Court had permitted the State of Tamil Nadu to seek the constitution of the tribunal to resolve the issue. In May, the Supreme Court had granted another time extension for this purpose.
The states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have had similar disputes over the Cauvery/Kaveri River as well. In February 2018, the Supreme Court passed its verdict in the Cauvery River case, observing that water bodies are national assets and that no one state could claim exclusive rights over them.
The ongoing dispute over the waters of the Cauvery River has its roots in two agreements in 1892 and 1924 between the erstwhile Madras Presidency and the Princely State of Mysore. Despite several rounds of failed negotiations and the constitution of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, the dispute continues, highlighting the complexities involved in resolving inter-state water disputes in India.