Contending that the order appointing an Empowered Committee to go into the safety of the Mullaperiyar dam has far-reaching implications in law, the Tamil Nadu government on Monday moved the Supreme Court for its recall and to allow hearing on the suit to proceed further.
In the Tamil Nadu's suit questioning the law enacted by Kerala to prevent raising the water level in the dam beyond 136 ft, a five-Judge Constitution Bench headed by Justice D.K. Jain, by an interim order on February 18, appointed a five-member committee headed by former Chief Justice of India A.S. Anand. The Committee was asked to submit its report in six months after considering all aspects, including Kerala's demand for new dam as well as on the safety of the existing Mullaperiyar dam.
In its application filed by State counsel R. Nedumaran, Tamil Nadu said the relief it had asked for concerned only the question as to whether Kerala's law was ultra vires the Constitution. However, the February 18 order “as a whole gives a colour of delegation of exclusive judicial power of this court to the Empowered Committee. It said “the jurisdiction to adjudicate on this question is exclusively of this Court and the Empowered Committee is not entitled to go into this question.”
Since the suit involved the interpretation of the Constitution only the Supreme Court could decide the same under Article 131. “Furthermore, the report will not aid this court in deciding upon the validity of the impugned law nor will the report throw any light at all on whether the [Kerala] Legislature had any material for legislatively judging that the dam was unsafe within 18 days after this court found it to be safe. Therefore, for deciding the suit, the report called for is not of any consequence.”
Pointing out that evidence and pleadings had already been completed in this case, Tamil Nadu said “the scope of the suit cannot be extended beyond the pleadings and issues. The power conferred on the Empowered Committee to decide not only the issues that have been raised before this Court but all issues which may be raised before the Committee would tantamount to transcending the boundaries of the proceedings under Article 131 of the Constitution.”
The State said the Empowered Committee would have no jurisdiction to make a report. At this stage, it was not appropriate to seek a report from an Empowered Committee, having particular regard to the previous judgment of this court.
