Defying Supreme Court directive will have serious repercussions

It is needless to state that under Article 142 of the Constitution, the order passed by the Supreme Court shall be enforceable throughout the territory of India and under Article 144 all authorities must act in aid of the Supreme Court. Under Article 131 of the Constitution, any dispute between two or more states can be resolved by the Supreme Court. However, the Parliament passed a legislation called as The Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956 which alone can resolve any dispute between two states regarding sharing of water from a river. It is under this law, the Cauvery Water Tribunal was constituted and the sharing of water between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu is still pending before it. The interim award granted by the Tribunal was unsuccessfully challenged by the Karnataka government and it failed miserably. Thereafter, year after year when the agriculture season starts, the Karnataka government drags the issue endlessly without releasing the quantum determined by the Tribunal. It ought to have released for the month of June, July and August alone 50 tmcft water to Tamil Nadu. However, by citing the low monsoon rains, the Karnataka state had not released the water as per the statutory order. Now, even after the Supreme Court’s interim order directing them to release 15,000 cusec water for next 10 days, it has instigated a political bandh to stall its release thereby committing gross contempt of the orders of the Supreme Court. 

It is high time a monitoring committee be notified for the implementation of the order of the court in this regard. 

Under these circumstances, the Supreme Court can give a direction to the Karnataka government to obey its order failing which it can take action against all authorities responsible for the same. If still such orders are disobeyed, it will be a clear case for invoking Article 356 to dismiss the elected government and impose an emergency to carry out lawful orders of the court and to secure justice.