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Noting that "once the Supreme Court passes an order it is obligatory for Executive and citizens to obey it", the Supreme Court slammed Karnataka government on Monday for citing public unrest and turmoil as reasons for seeking modification of its September 5 order to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery river water from its reservoirs to distressed Tamil Nadu.
A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and U.U. Lalit refused to agree with Karnataka's plea to completely stop the release of water but acquiesced to the extent of reducing the amount of water to be released from 15,000 cusecs to 12,000 cusecs per day.
The Bench ordered that for the interim, Karnataka will release 12,000 cusecs on a daily basis till September 20.
The court said it would issue further orders on the issue on September 20, which is the next date of hearing. "Citizens cannot become a law unto themselves. Once the Supreme Court orders something, it is the obligation of the Executive and citizens to obey," Justice Misra repeatedly observed during the hour-long hearing.
Karnataka' desperate plea that it cannot control the turmoil within the State post the court order to release Cauvery water saw the Supreme Court open up on a holiday to hear the case.
A few hours before midnight on Saturday, Karnataka had approached the Supreme Court registrar at his residence with their urgent plea for the highest court's intervention in the backdrop of the unabated turmoil and public unrest visited on the southern State following the Supreme Court order on September 5 to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.
The file was placed before the Chief Justice of India T.S. Thakur on Sunday. The Chief Justice referred the matter for hearing before Justice Dipak Misra's Bench which had passed the September 5 order for release of 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.
Karnataka said that 66,000 cusecs of water has already been released to Tamil Nadu from September 5 to 10 as a goodwill gesture.
It said that the water is for storage purpose in Tamil Nadu while Karnataka is reeling under a drinking water crisis.
Its application for modification said the order has caused great distress to the public and ordinary farmers of Karnataka and the State is in a turmoil.
It said that the Samba region of Tamil Nadu has sufficient supply of ground water for cultivation.
The apex court had ordered Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water for a period of 10 days to the State to feed its parched agricultural lands in the "interests of justice".
The decision to direct Karnataka to part with 15,000 cusecs of water for the stipulated period came shortly after the apex court had urged Karnataka to embrace the principle of "live and let live".
It had advised Karnataka to take steps to release Cauvery water to distressed Tamil Nadu to help the latter State continue to "exist as an entity.
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