Case: State of Tamilnadu Etc Vs. State of Karnataka and Others

These appeals by grant of special leave are directed against the order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal dated January 5, 1991. The above appeals have been filed by the Governments of Tamil Nadu and Union Territory of Pondicherry in respect of Civil Misc. Petition (in short C.M.P) Nos. 4 and 9 of 1990 by the Government of Tamil Nadu and CMP No. 5 of 1990 filed by the Union Territory of Pondicherry and dismissed by the Tribunal by a common order dated January 5, 1991.As identical questions of law arise in these cases, we would state the facts of C.M. P filed by the Government of Tamil Nadu. The Government of Tamil Nadu filed a complaint dated 6th July 1986 on the ground that the interests of the State of Tamil Nadu and of its inhabitants (particularly the farmers in the Cauvery Delta) had been and is prejudiciously and injuriously affected by the executive action taken and proposed to be taken by the upper riparian State of Karnataka and by the failure of that State to implement the terms of the agreements relating to the use, distri bution and control of the waters of river Cauvery. The said complaint was made to the Central Government under Section 3 of the Inter State Water Dispute Act, 1956 (hereinafter referred to as the Act).The Central Government by Notification dated 2.6.1990 constituted the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal and passed the following order of reference: No.21/1/90-WD Government of India(Bharat Sarkar) Ministry of Water Resources (Jal Sansadhan Mantralaya) New Delhi, 2nd June, 1990. REFERENCE In the exercise of the powers con ferred by sub- section (1) of Section 5, of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956 (33 of 1956), the Central Government hereby refers to the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal for adjudication, the w ater disputes regarding the inter-State river Cauvery and the river valley thereof, emerging from letter No. 17527/K2/82-110 dated the 6th July, 1986 from the Government of Tamilnadu(copy enclosed). By order and in the name of The President of India (M.A. CHITALE) SECRETARY, (WATER RESOURCES) Chairman, The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, New Delhi.During the pendency of above reference the Government of Tamilnadu filed C.M.P. No. 4 of 1990 praying that the State of Karnataka be directed not to impound or utilise water of Cauvery river beyond the extent impound ed or utilised by them as on 31.5.1972, as agreed to by the Chief Ministers of the Basin States and Union Minister for Irrigation and Power. It was further prayed that an order be passed restraining the State of Karnatake from undertaking any new projects, dams, reservoirs, canals etc., and/or from proceeding further with the construction of projects, dams, reservoirs, canals etc. in the Cauvery Basin.On 8.9.1990 C.M.P. No .5 of 1990 was filed by the Union Territory of Pondicherry seeking an interim order directing the States of Karnataka and Kerala to release the water already agreed to, that is, 9.355 T.M.C. during the months September to March.The Governme nt of Tamilnadu filed another emergent petition C.M.P. No.9 of 1990 to direct the State of karnataka to release at least 20 T.M.C. of waters as a first instalment pending final orders on C.M.P. No. 4 of 1990. This petition was submitted on the ground that the Samba crop cannot be maintained without additional supplies at Mettur Reservoir.All the above C.M.Ps. were opposed by the State of Karnataka and the State of Kerala both on merits as well as on a preliminary objection that the Tribunal had no power or jurisdiction to entertain these petitions to grant any interim relief. The preliminary objection was based on the ground that the Tribunal constituted under the Act had limited jurisdiction. It had no inherent power like an ordinary civil court. It was having only those powers which have been conferred on it under the Act and there was no provision of law which authorised or conferred any jurisdiction on the Tribunal to grant any interim relief.The Tribunal upheld the objection raised on behalf of the State of Karnataka, and State of Kerala and as a result of which by its order dated January 5, 1991 ordered that the Tribunal cannot entertain the applications for the grant interim reliefs and the C.M.P. Nos. 4, 5 and 9 were held to be not maintainable in law and as such dismissed. Aggrieved against the aforesaid order of the Tribunal these appeals have been filed by the State of Tamilnadu and the Union Territory o f Pondicherry.

Court's reasoning:
Thus, we hold that this Court is the ultimate interpreter of the provisions of the inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956 and has an authority to decide the limits, powers and the jurisdiction of the Tribunal constituted under the Act. This Court has not only the power but obligation to decide as to whether the Tribunal has any jurisdiction or not under the Act, to entertain any interim application till it finally decides the dispute referred to it. There is thus no force in the above argument raised by Dr. Y.S. Chitale.We would no w examine the controversies raised on merits in these appeals. It was contended on behalf of the appellants before the Tribunal that it had jurisdiction to entertain these miscellaneous petitions for interim relief. Firstly, for the reason that when the Tribunal while exercising powers of granting interim relief it will be only exercising incidental and ancillary power, as the interim reliefs prayed for arise out of the water dispute which has been referred to the Tribunal. Secondly, under Article 262 of the Constitution of India, once the Parliament has enacted the Act providing for adjudication of a dispute in regard to sharing of water of Cauvery Basin, no other Court in the country has the jurisdiction to grant an interim relief and, as such, the Tribunal has the inherent powers to grant the interim relief, otherwise petitioners shall be left with no remedy for the enforcement of theirare clearly of the view that the reliefs prayed by the appellants in their C.M.P. Nos. 4, 5 and 9 of 1990 clearly come within the purview of the dispute referred by the Central Government under Section 5 of the Act. The Tribunal has not held that it had no incidental and ancillary power for granting an interim relief, but it has refused to entertain the C.M.P. Nos . 4, 5 and 9 on the ground that the reliefs prayed in these applications had not been referred by the Central Government. In view of the above circumstances we think it is not necessary for us to decide in this case, the larger question whether a Tribunal constituted under the Water Disputes Act has any power or not to grant any interim relief. In the present case the appellants become entitled to succeed on the basis of the finding recorded by us in therir favour that the reliefs prayed by them in their C.M.P. Nos. 4, 5 and 9 of 1990 are covered in the reference made b y the Central Government. It may also be noted that at the fag end of the arguments it was submitted before us on behalf of the State of Kanataka that they were agreeable to proceed with the C.M.Ps. on merits before the Tribunal on the terms that all party States agreed that all questions arising out of or connected with or relevant to the water dispute (set out in the respective pleadings of the respective parties), including all applications for interim directions/reliefs by party States be determined by the Tribunal on merits. However, the above terms were not agreeable to the State of Tamilnadu as such we have decided the appeals on merits.