Karnataka Files Review In Supreme Court On Cauvery Orders
There are strident calls from the Opposition not to release water “at any cost”.
The Karnataka government on Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking a review of its order directing the state to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu even as it faced strident calls from Opposition parties not to release water "at any cost".
The Karnataka government filed a review petition in the apex court against its three recent orders on release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu, and direction for constitution of the Cauvery Water Management Board by the Centre, saying it would cause "undue hardship" to the state.
In the petition, it said that "grave miscarriage of justice" has been caused to it pursuant to three orders of the apex court dated September 20, 27 and September 30, in which it directed the state to release 6,000 cusecs of water till October 6 and constitution of the board by October 4.
It said the apex court has "committed an error" in directing the Centre to constitute the Cauvery Management Board, without considering the fact that three judges of the apex court held in 2013 that direction to constitute the board "can wait and may be heard along with the civil appeal".
"The court has not taken cognizance of the fact that the constitution of the Cauvery Management Board, being legislative in character, depends upon the authority exercising the power as well as the nature of the function and obligation arising from the legislation", it said in the review plea.
The plea moved by Karnataka said further water release orders from the reservoirs of Karnataka would "cause irreparable injury" to Karnataka as once the release is made from the reservoirs of the state, the water cannot be retrieved in case of good normal North-East monsoon.
The apex court had on Friday taken Karnataka to task for its repeated "defiance" by flouting its orders for release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu and had directed it to discharge 6,000 cusecs water from today till October 6.
It had warned Karnataka that no one would know when the "wrath of the law" would fall on it.