JOIN USThe Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear a plea made by the Union government for clarification as well as three additional months to implement the February 16 judgement for framing a scheme to ensure the sharing of Cauvery water among Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Puducherry.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud posted the Centre's application for hearing on April 9 as a counsel referred to divergent views of the concerned states on the issue of setting up of the scheme.
"We will take this matter on April 9 along with the plea of Tamil Nadu," the bench said, when the Centre's counsel Wasim Qadri sought urgent hearing of the plea.
The Union government had on Saturday sought three more months saying framing a scheme after the announcement of the Karnataka Assembly elections may create massive public outrage over there as it was an emotive issue.
It also sought to know if the scheme to be framed under the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act can be at variance from the Cauvery Management Board as recommended by the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal in its decision in 2007.
The Tamil Nadu government, for its part, claimed the Centre made a willful disobedience of the apex court's judgement on framing a scheme.
It sought contempt action against Cabinet Secretary P K Sinha and Water Resources Ministry secretary U P Singh as the time frame of six weeks fixed by the top court expired on March 30.