Two SC judges recuse from hearing Pennaiyar water dispute

Two judges of the Supreme Court on Wednesday recused from hearing a matter related to sharing and the usage of Pennaiyar River water between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

A bench of Justices A S Bopanna and M M Sundresh opted out of the hearing related to an original suit filed by Tamil Nadu.

"We both cannot hear this," the bench said.

Justice Bopanna hails from Karnataka and Justice Sundresh from Tamil Nadu.

Also Read | Release June share of Cauvery water immediately: TN to Karnataka

As the issues were brought before the court, the bench recused itself, with the judges saying that they can't hear the case or they may start fighting with each other.

The matter before the court related to Tamil Nadu's plea claiming that the rights and interest of the state in river Pennaiyar and its tributaries, an inter-state river, have been prejudicially affected by the executive action of Karnataka by its various works, and in violation of 1892 and 1933 agreements.

On Tuesday, the Union government had told the court that a proposal for formation of Pennaiyar Water Dispute Tribunal, to resolve issues of water-sharing between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka has been submitted to Cabinet Secretariat for consideration and is awaiting its final approval.

The court had on May 2, 2023 has granted the Union government one month's further time for setting up the tribunal and issuing a gazette notification for it.

On November 14, 2019, the Supreme Court permitted the Tamil Nadu government to invoke the powers of the Union government in terms of the provisions of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act and seek the constitution of a tribunal on the dispute over sharing of water.