Cauvery water dispute: Supreme Court defers hearing to August 17 as judge ill

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (August 12, 2026) postponed the hearing in the Cauvery water dispute to August 17 after Justice Vikram Nath, the judge assigned to the case, was unable to preside due to viral fever. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, heading a three-judge Bench, said Justice Nath would not be presiding over his Bench this week.

The case was initially expected to be listed on August 13 to hear a plea by the State of Tamil Nadu seeking a judicial direction to Karnataka to implement the Central Water Management Authority (CWMA) decision of July 30, which mandated the release of 3,500 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water for 15 days from Karnataka’s Kabini and Krishna Raja Sagara reservoirs. Tamil Nadu had requested the release of 4.536 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) on or before August 12.

When senior advocate P. Wilson, representing the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), made an oral mentioning of a separate application filed by the Opposition party in the Cauvery matter, the CJI said the case would now be listed on August 17. The CJI also observed that Justice Nath, who is next in line to be the Chief Justice as per seniority norms, was down with viral fever.

The DMK application seeks the release of about 7,000 cusecs per day at Biligundlu, the inter-state border point, for 15 days, and asks the court to direct the CWMA to monitor the releases and file a compliance report. The application asserts that Karnataka has “neither released the water nor evinced the slightest intention of doing so” despite binding directions from the Central Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) and the CWMA.

Highlighting the impact of non-release, the application said about 14.913 lakh acres in the Cauvery delta depend on the Mettur reservoir for irrigation, which in turn depends on flows at Biligundlu. “About four million farmers and about 10 million agricultural labourers directly and indirectly depend on Mettur water for their very livelihood,” it said. The delta districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur, Nagapattinam, Mayiladuthurai, Tiruchirappalli and others are “worst affected”, and the Kuruvai crop is withering for want of water.

Tamil Nadu’s plea, filed earlier, contends that Karnataka has failed to comply with the CWMA’s decision and seeks its implementation. The DMK’s application goes further, seeking an immediate direction for a higher volume of water—7,000 cusecs—to be released daily at Biligundlu for 15 days. Both cases will be taken up together on the next date of hearing.

The Cauvery dispute is one of India’s longest-running inter-state water conflicts. The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal was set up in 1990, and its final award in 2007 sought to distribute water among Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. In 2018, the Supreme Court largely upheld the tribunal’s award and revised the shares, with Tamil Nadu’s annual entitlement fixed at 404.25 TMC, Karnataka’s at 284.75 TMC, Kerala’s at 30 TMC and Puducherry’s at 7 TMC. The Court also directed the Union government to notify the Cauvery Water Management Scheme, under which the CWMA and CWRC were constituted to regulate and implement the water-sharing arrangement.

The CWMA is empowered to decide the quantum of releases based on the storage position in reservoirs and the requirements of the states, while the CWRC assists in monitoring daily flows. The river, often described as the lifeline of South India, supports millions of farmers in both Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and any imbalance in its sharing has historically led to protests and political tensions.

The Kuruvai season, which begins in June, is critical for the delta districts. The crop has already been raised, and the application states that it is now withering for want of water. Tamil Nadu has argued that the non-release of water is causing undue hardship to farmers and that Karnataka’s actions are in violation of the CWMA’s directive.

The court did not pass any interim order on Wednesday and has not yet heard Karnataka’s response. Karnataka’s reply to the pleas is awaited. The next hearing on August 17 is expected to address the urgency of the situation and whether interim relief should be granted. The proceedings are being closely followed by political parties and farmer organisations in both states.