The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Centre to set up a tribunal for the adjudication of the ongoing dispute between Tamil Nadu and Karnataka over the sharing of the river Pennaiyar’s water.
The court had reserved its verdict on the matter on December 19, 2025, after the Centre submitted that no consensus could be reached between the neighbouring states.
In its order, the court also said that a notification regarding the establishment of the tribunal must be issued within a month. The order came from a bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath and NV Anjaria.
“We find no reason to refrain from directing the Central government to issue an appropriate notification in the official gazette and to constitute a water disputes tribunal for the adjudication of the inter-se water dispute between the parties herein within a period of one month from today,” Justice Nath said while pronouncing the order.
The water dispute reached the Supreme Court in 2018 through an original lawsuit filed by the Tamil Nadu government against Karnataka over efforts for the erection of check dams and the diversion of the river.
Tamil Nadu had argued that the water of an interstate river is considered a national asset and that no state could claim exclusive rights over it.
In its submission, the state government had also said that the 1892 agreement on the river water was binding on the party states and Karnataka.
Hence, Tamil Nadu argued that Karnataka could not be allowed to proceed with constructing check dams and creating diversions without disclosing any details about the nature of such construction work, or without obtaining the riparian state’s consent.
– Ends
With inputs from PTI
Published On:
Feb 3, 2026
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