Centre Seeks SC Nod to Let Retired Judges on Existing Water Tribunal Hear Fresh Cases

The Union government has approached the Supreme Court with a request for a "purposive interpretation" of the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956. The objective is to permit retired Supreme Court and high court judges, who currently head existing water tribunals, to adjudicate fresh inter-state river disputes.

The government argues that this approach would streamline the resolution process by eliminating the need to constitute new tribunals for each dispute. This, it contends, would ensure a more efficient utilization of judicial and administrative resources and provide an "expeditious and economical mode of compliance" with the court's directives.

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You should have amended the provision...it would have been resolved by now.

The plea was filed in response to a February 2 judgment by the Supreme Court, which directed the Centre to establish a tribunal for the long-standing Pennaiyar river water dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Instead of creating a new tribunal, the Union proposes assigning this dispute to the already established Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal, whose members, though retired from constitutional courts, continue to hold their positions under the statute.

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seeking a purposive interpretation of Section 4(2) of the Act so as to permit an existing Tribunal, whose members satisfied the qualification when nominated, to be entrusted with the adjudication of the Pennaiyar dispute.

Attorney General R Venkataramani presented the government's case, emphasizing that the proposed interpretation would allow an existing tribunal, whose members met the qualification criteria at the time of their nomination, to handle new adjudication tasks. However, the bench questioned why Parliament had not amended the relevant provisions if such flexibility was intended, suggesting that legislative action would have been a more direct solution.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing Karnataka, opposed the immediate consideration of the plea, deeming the issue "really serious" and requiring a detailed response. The counsel for Tamil Nadu also requested additional time to prepare their reply. The Supreme Court has granted both states two weeks to file their responses, with the matter to be listed thereafter.

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really serious