SC to hear plea for steps to check violence in state, TN

The Supreme Court would hear on Thursday a PIL by a social activist seeking direction to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to take immediate steps to prevent escalation of violence over sharing of Cauvery river water.

Senior advocate Adish C Aggrawala on Wednesday mentioned the petition by P Sivakumar, a resident of Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, before the bench presided over by Chief Justice T S Thakur for urgent hearing.

He submitted that Karnataka and Tamil Nadu must take preventive steps in view of protests, arson and violence in parts of the two states. He submitted that both the states must recover the cost from those who indulged in violence and destroyed public properties during the agitation.

The court put the matter for consideration before a bench of Justices Dipak Misra and C Nagappan on September 15.

The petition filed through advocate N Rajaraman also sought direction to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu to take action against organisations such as Kannada Rakshana Vedike, Kannada Chaluvali Vatal Paksha and Tamizhaga Vaazhvurimai Katchi for inciting regional parochial sentiments and violence in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu respectively and destroying private and public property.

The petitioner contended that the law settled by the Supreme Court in 2009 in Re Destruction of Public and Private Property Vs State of Andhra Pradesh was needed to be strictly implemented by both the states.

He also stated that the Union government should be directed to take stock of the situation if the order passed by the Apex court on August 12 for per day release of 12,000 cusecs of Cauvery river water by Karnataka to Tamil Nadu was being complied with or not.