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Synopsis

The Supreme Court today adjourned the hearing of a plea filed by the Maharashtra government in the Belagavi border dispute.

Justice Aravind Kumar, a Supreme Court judge who hails from the state of Karnataka recused himself from hearing the case involving the border dispute between Maharashtra and Karnataka.

The case was listed before a three-judge panel consisting of Justice SK Kaul, Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah, and Justice Aravind Kumar.

Earlier also Justice Abdul Nazeer, Justice M. Shantanagoudar and Justice BV Nagarathna, all of them from Karnataka, have recused from hearing the matter.

According to a report in India Today, during the hearing, senior advocate CS Vaidyanathan informed the bench that judges from both contesting states had earlier recused themselves from hearing the case.

Following that, Justice Aravind Kumar recused himself from the hearing.

With today's recusal, four Supreme Court justices have withdrawn from hearing the case.

It was observed that after this, the CJI D.Y.Chandrachud will have to constitute a new bench to look into this matter.

The State of Maharashtra had filed a suit in 2004 to challenge the State Reorganisation Act, 1956. The Act establishes limits based on linguistic distinctions. The state of Maharashtra claimed that there are Marathi-speaking people in many areas in the state of Karnataka. As a result, it asserted that these areas, including Belagavi, should be part of Maharashtra rather than Karnataka.

The State of Karnataka, on the other side, maintained that under Article 3 of the Indian Constitution, only the Parliament can decide on state borders. It was also claimed that the basis for determining boundaries was not only linguistic, but also financial, administrative, and economic factors.

Case Title: State of Maharashtra vs. Union of India

Source India Today