The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed that the ‘Mullaperiyar dam dispute’ case between the States of Tamil Nadu and Kerala be listed for final arguments on July 23 after the summer vacation.
A five-judge constitution Bench comprising Justices R.M. Lodha, H.L. Dattu, C.K. Prasad, Madan B. Lokur and M.Y. Eqbal fixed the date after brief submissions from senior counsel Harish Salve and senior counsel Rajeev Dhavan for Kerala and senior counsel Vinod Bobde for Tamil Nadu.
In response to the direction issued in the last hearing in January, both the States had completed their pleadings.
The Bench is hearing a suit filed by Tamil Nadu questioning the law enacted by Kerala in 2006 to restrict the water level in the Mullaperiyar dam at 136 ft. though the Supreme Court had permitted Tamil Nadu to raise the water level upto 142 ft.
The Bench during the final hearing on day-to-day basis will examine the report of the Empowered Committee headed by former Chief Justice of India A.S. Anand observing that the dam was safe and water level could be raised by Tamil Nadu up to 142 ft.
