Contempt plea: All eyes on SC today

The state has resolved to oppose the Centre’s petition and Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday brainstormed with the advocates representing the state in the apex court and senior officials. 

A senior official who was privy to the meeting revealed that the CM gave advice to the legal team on advancing arguments in state’s favour. 

“The legal team led by state’s counsel advocate Shekar Naphade was also advised to reiterate Tamil Nadu’s stand and need to frame the scheme ahead of the cultivation season. They were also insisted to oppose the Centre’s petition itself as it was not maintainable as it was filed after the deadline set by the court in implementation of the order was not met except for a single meeting convened by the Union Water Resources Ministry,” the official said. 

The SC will also take up the hearing of the Centre’s petition seeking clarification over the ‘scheme’ besides wanting to know whether it could be in variance to the final orders of the Cauvery Tribunal’s 2007 order. The Centre, in its petition, has sought the apex court’s opinion on framing a scheme under the provisions of Interstate River Water Disputes Act in the backdrop of lack of consensus among Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. It has also sought three months more time to implement the orders and has observed that the formation of the scheme might cause law & order issue in Karnataka where the election to the Assembly is scheduled for next month. 

State’s primary prayer in the case is to purge the contempt forthwith by directing the Centre to frame a scheme providing for formation of the CMB and CWRC as per the Tribunal order and as noted in the February 16 verdict. 

The intensity of the ongoing protests in the state is expected to go up if the Centre’s plea is not junked, sources said.