Supreme Court reserves verdict over Cauvery river water dispute

The Supreme Court on Wednesday reserved its verdict over Cauvery river water dispute involving the tussle between the two neighbouring states Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The Supreme Court bench concluded the hearing today. The apex court on July 11 had commenced final hearing on the appeals filed by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala against the 2007 Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal (CWDT) final award.A bench of the apex court, headed by now Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, had earlier directed the Karnataka Government to provide 2000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu till its further order.

The top court, earlier in January, dismissed the plea seeking compensation from both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Governments for the loss of property during the Cauvery water related dispute between both the states. Siva Kumar, a Tamil Nadu based activist, had earlier filed the petition in the apex court on the same.

On January 9, the Tamil Nadu Government sought a compensation of Rs. 2,480 crores from Karnataka for not releasing water to the state despite getting the Supreme Court directive to do so. The lawyer from the side of Tamil Nadu, Shekhar Naphade, urged the three-judge bench to bring the matter to a logical end for which there should be a continuous hearing. On December 9 last year, the apex court upheld its constitutional power and right to hear appeals filed by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.