Published Sep 24, 2026 | 6:18 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 24, 2026 | 6:18 PM
Supreme court of India
Synopsis: Appearing for Tamil Nadu, senior counsel CS Vaidyanathan told the court that the State’s water shortfall was not being made good and alleged that the CWMA (Cauvery Water Management Authority) had not passed an order specifically addressing the deficit.
The Supreme Court on Thursday, 24 September, sought Karnataka’s response to Tamil Nadu’s plea seeking release of Cauvery water to make up for an alleged shortfall, with Tamil Nadu putting the deficit at around 20 TMC and Karnataka citing drought-like conditions in its basin.
According to a Livelaw report, a bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta and Vijay Bishnoi directed Karnataka to file its response within a week and posted the matter for hearing in October.
Appearing for Tamil Nadu, senior counsel CS Vaidyanathan told the court that the State’s water shortfall was not being made good and alleged that the CWMA (Cauvery Water Management Authority) had not passed an order specifically addressing the deficit.
When the bench sought clarification on the quantity of the alleged shortfall, Vaidyanathan said Tamil Nadu assessed it at around 20 TMC, while Karnataka’s assessment was around 16 TMC, according to LiveLaw.
Senior counsel Shyam Divan, appearing for Karnataka, opposed the plea and submitted that the State had released water in excess of the quantities directed by the CWMA despite facing a drought-like situation.
“This is a drought situation. CWMA is an expert body. It knows exactly what’s happening,” Divan told the court, according to LiveLaw.
Karnataka also submitted that it had complied with the CWMA’s directions despite difficult conditions and argued that the issue should be dealt with by the statutory authority rather than the Supreme Court.
Divan told the court that the CWMA had considered reservoir levels, declining inflows and rainfall forecasts. He also submitted that Karnataka had little prospect of further rainfall as the monsoon was retreating, while Tamil Nadu would receive the North-East monsoon.
Justice Mehta observed that Tamil Nadu’s grievance over the alleged deficit could be considered by the CWMA. “They have raised a deficit issue. CWMA takes a call on that,” the court observed.
The court directed Karnataka to file its response within a week and listed the matter for hearing in October.
Tamil Nadu had earlier approached the Supreme Court seeking enforcement of the CWMA’s direction requiring Karnataka to ensure a release of 6,000 cusecs daily from September 9 to September 23, besides seeking directions to make good the accumulated shortfall.
(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Keerthivas)
