New Delhi: The Cauvery water sharing dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu came up for hearing in the Supreme Court (SC) this morning and the hearing has been postponed to Sept. 21.

The hearing of the case was scheduled before a two-Judge Bench of Justice B.R. Gavai and Justice P.S. Narasimha. Since fellow Judge Justice P.S. Narsimha is on leave, the case has been scheduled for hearing on Sept. 21.

The Farmer’s Association from Tamil Nadu also filed an application regarding the dispute — seeking more water from Karnataka — and even this plea will be heard on Sept. 21 as per the information provided by Justice Gavai.

The Judges informed the lawyers of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu that they will not be available next week. While Justice Narasimha is presently on leave, Justice Gavai will not be available next week. If the lawyers want a new Bench to hear the case, they can approach the Chief Justice, Justice Gavai said.

Responding to this, the advocates from Tamil Nadu told the Court that it was better if the present Bench (Justice Gavai and Justice Narsimha) heard the State plea. Consenting to this, Justice Gavai posted the hearing for Sept. 21. 

Tamil Nadu Government had approached the Supreme Court seeking direction to Karnataka to release 24,000 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water daily per day from the reservoirs in Karnataka. Karnataka Government had also filed an affidavit last week opposing Tamil Nadu’s application saying that it is based on an assumption that this year is the normal rain water year. As per the directions of Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), Karnataka has  released a total of 1,49,898 cusecs of water at Biligundlu  from Aug. 12 to Aug. 26.