Government’s top law officer Mukul Rohatgi tells the Supreme Court that the Constitution has totally ousted the jurisdiction of the apex court for inter-state river water disputes. Photo: AFPNew Delhi: The centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that the 2007 award of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal is final and binding on the states—Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. “The Constitution has totally ousted the jurisdiction of the apex court for inter-state river water disputes,” the government’s top law officer, Mukul Rohatgi, told the court. A three-judge bench of justices Dipak Misra, Amitava Roy and A.M. Khanwilkar began hearing if appeals filed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala against the 2007 tribunal award can be entertained by the court. Separately, the court ordered Karnataka to release 2,000 cusecs of Cauvery water per day to Tamil Nadu till further orders.

Source: Mint October 18, 2016 11:00 UTC