The 1892 and 1924 pacts between the erstwhile Mysore and Madras governments reflect an “inequality of bargaining power” and a lack of “conscience” which have no validity after the birth of the Indian Constitution, Karnataka argued in the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
The submission was made before a three-judge Bench of Justices Dipak Misra, Amitava Roy and A.M. Khanwilkar during the day-long hearing on the appeals filed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala against the final award on the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal's decision on water-sharing.
Karnataka counsel and senior advocate Fali Nariman submitted that the 1892 agreement, the “parent” of the 1924 pact, dictated that Mysore could not develop any irrigational infrastructure on the river without the consent of the Madras government.
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Tamil Nadu had earlier countered before the tribunal that the 1892 agreement was preceded by a good deal of mutual consideration of the interests of both the Madras presidency and the Mysore State.
The marathon hearings were fixed after the Supreme Court had earlier refused the Centre's stand that the apex court lacked jurisdiction to hear the Cauvery river dispute. It had upheld the constitutional power of the court to hear the appeals filed by the three States against the tribunal award.
The Centre had argued that the parliamentary law of Inter-State Water Disputes Act of 1956, coupled with Article 262 (2) of the Constitution, excluded the Supreme Court from hearing or deciding any appeals against the Cauvery Tribunal's decision. The Bench, however, had held that the remedy under Article 136 was a constitutional right. The Supreme Court will continue to hear the appeals on Wednesday.
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Tight security in Mandya
Security was tightened across Mandya on Tuesday. More than 2,000 police personnel from Mandya as well as adjoining districts participated in route marches in sensitive areas across the district.
“It was a precautionary measure in view of the Supreme Court hearing. We conducted route marches in sensitive areas of the district, where rioting had broken out previously,” said Superintendent of Police, Mandya, Radhika G.
(With inputs from Mandya)