Summary
Tamil Nadu sought interim restraint on Karnataka’s construction of a reservoir across a tributary of the Pennaiyar. The Supreme Court declined interim relief, noting prima facie requisite permissions and substantial completion. It left the suit’s merits and maintainability open. No prescribed request to constitute a water disputes tribunal had been made, and such a request could not be inferred from general correspondence.
Issues
- Whether interim restraint on the reservoir project was justified pending the original suit.
- Whether correspondence could be treated as a request for constitution of a water disputes tribunal.
Held
- The suit’s merits, including maintainability, remained for consideration after evidence and submissions. The application concerned interim relief alone. (¶ 13)
- Prima facie requisite sanctions and permissions, construction over several years and approximately 75 percent completion did not warrant interim relief in these circumstances. (¶ 14)
- Neither the plaint nor the application sought constitution of a tribunal. A prescribed request could not be inferred from general communications, and the Union could not on that basis be faulted for not constituting one. (¶¶ 16, 17, 18)
- Tamil Nadu could, if advised, submit an appropriate request to the Central Government for constitution of a tribunal within four weeks. (¶ 19)
Result
Interlocutory Application No. 95384 of 2019 dismissed, subject to liberty to seek constitution of a water disputes tribunal within four weeks. The original suit was listed for further directions on 10 January 2020. Its maintainability, water rights and the merits of the projects were not finally decided.