The Haryana government on Friday invoked judicial precedents in the Cauvery river water sharing dispute case involving Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka to submit in the Supreme Court that no State Assembly can pass a law to negate the apex court’s constitutional powers to adjudicate and decide inter-State disputes.
In a hearing of the Presidential Reference on the validity of the Punjab Termination of Agreements Act of 2004 — which has jeopardised the Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal project — before a Constitution Bench led by Justice A.R. Dave, senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for Haryana, said a law passed by the State legislature to circumvent or render infructuous a Supreme Court verdict was a clear encroachment by the lawmakers into the judiciary’s terrain.
The hearing saw senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, appearing for Punjab, urge the Bench to first decide on the State’s decision to return the land acquired for the canal back to the farmers. Mr. Jethmalani said this issue required the court’s immediate attention rather than the academic question of the validity of the 2004 law.
Rights BillOn March 14, even as the Supreme Court began hearing the President’s Reference on the 2004 Act, the Punjab Assembly went ahead and passed the Punjab Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal (Rehabilitation and Re-vesting of Proprietary Rights) Bill, which provided for the return of over 5,000 acres of land acquired from farmers for the canal.
‘Not silent spectator’On March 17, the apex court ordered status quo and made it clear that it would not be relegated to the status of a “silent spectator” by any State Assembly. The court had appointed the Union Home Secretary, Punjab’s Chief Secretary and Director General of Police as joint receivers to ensure no alterations were made in the canal structure and related properties.
