Karnataka govt seeks setting up of bench in SC to deal with Krishna river water dispute
New Delhi, Feb 18: The Karnataka government Friday moved the Supreme Court seeking setting up of a bench to hear a plea relating to the dispute over the allocation of water of Krishana river, flowing in states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana, after two judges recused themselves on January 10.
A bench comprising Justice D Y Chandrachud, hailing from Maharashtra, and Justice A S Bopanna, who belongs to Karnataka, had on January 10 recused from the case, arising out of the water tribunal's decision, saying We do not want to be the target of invectives .
The judges, who recused themselves, were upset with the tone and tenor of mails and letters against them for being part of the bench to decide the water dispute.
A bench headed by Chief Justice N V Ramana took note of the submissions of senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for Karnataka, and said that he will consider setting up the bench for the case.
The bench, also comprising justices A S Bopanna and Hima Kohli, inquired whether the parties can amicably settle the dispute.
Divan said the main issue would require adjudication from the bench itself and some of the ancillary matters may be settled.
I am mentioning on behalf of Karnataka. There is a judicial order of January 10, 2022, passed by a bench of Justice Chandrachud and Justice Bopanna where they have directed that the papers be placed before the CJI in the administrative side for directions. They have recognised and all the counsel agreed that this ought to be listed expeditiously, Divan said at the outset.
We will look into this, the CJI said.
Karnataka had sought the vacation of a November 16, 2011, order of the top court that restrained the Centre from publishing in the official gazette the final order of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal II (KWDT) pronounced in 2010, allocating the river water to Karnataka, erstwhile Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
The KWDT had further modified its final order and report on November 29, 2013, to allot surplus water to Karnataka, Maharashtra, and the erstwhile State of Andhra Pradesh while preserving the allocation of 2,130 TMC already made among them.
The publication of the tribunal order is a necessary precondition for its implementation.
However, following the bifurcation of unified Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh had moved the Supreme Court challenging the KWDT's allocation of share.
Karnataka had argued that thousands of crores of its dam and irrigation projects to provide water to its parched northern areas were stalled for all these years because of the 2011 order to not publish the KWDT decisions in the Official Gazette under Section 6(1) of the Inter-State Water Disputes Act, 1956.
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SGPC writes to Mann, seeks ban on 'Emergency' in Punjab a day before release
Amritsar, Jan 16 (PTI): The SGPC on Thursday wrote to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, seeking a ban on the release of Kangana Ranaut's movie 'Emergency' saying it "tarnishes" the image of Sikhs and "misrepresents" history.
Actor and BJP MP Ranaut's 'Emergency' is slated to release in cinemas on January 17.
In the letter to Mann, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee chief Harjinder Singh Dhami expressed strong objection to Ranaut's film.
Dhami said that if the film is released in Punjab, it will spark "outrage and anger" in the Sikh community and therefore it is the responsibility of the government to ban its release in the state.
The SGPC, an apex gurdwara body, had earlier also protested the film.
"It has come to our attention that the movie 'Emergency' produced by BJP MP Kangana Ranaut is going to be released on 17th January 2025 in cinemas in different cities of Punjab and the tickets have also started to be booked," its letter to Mann read.
Dhami said the SGPC had also protested the release of the movie in a letter to the Punjab Chief Secretary on November 14 last year.
"But it is sad that the Punjab government has not taken any step till now. If this film is released on January 17, 2025, then it is natural to create outrage and anger in the Sikh world," the current letter read.
Dhami said the SGPC will submit a letter also to all the deputy commissioners in Punjab, seeking a ban on the film in the state.
The SGPC denounced the "character assassination" of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the Khalistani militant killed in 1984 in a military operation.
"If this film is released in Punjab, we will be forced to strongly oppose it at the state level," Dhami said.
In August last year, the SGPC sent a legal notice to the producers of the 'Emergency' film, alleging that it "misrepresented" the character and history of Sikhs, and asked them to remove the objectionable scenes depicting "anti-Sikh" sentiments.
In the notice, the producers of the film, including Kangana Ranaut, were asked to remove the trailer released on August 14 from all public and social media platforms and tender a written apology to the Sikh community.
The SGPC objected to film writing separate letters to the Minister of Information and Broadcasting and the Central Board of Film Certification.
