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Justice Kumar hails from the state of Karnataka and was appointed as Additional Judge High Court of Karnataka in 2009
Justice Aravind Kumar of the Supreme Court of India has recused from hearing the Cauvery River water dispute between the state of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
A bench also comprising Justice PS Narasimha was slated to hear the issue today.
Following Justice Kumar's recusal, the bench directed that the matter be placed before the Chief Justice of India for appropriate directions.
In September last year, the Supreme Court had refused to interfere with the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) order on directions to the State of Karnataka on releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.
Earlier, CWMA had informed the Supreme Court that Karnataka had released water to Tamil Nadu as per its direction issued on August 10. It also said that Cauvery basin reservoirs in Karnataka has received 52% low inflow in the last 30 years.
The Karnataka Government had also filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court claiming that it is facing a severe drought situation both in Cauvery and Krishna basins, it may not be feasible to further release any water from the reservoirs in Karnataka after September 12, 2023.
Supreme Court had sought a fresh report from CWMA on whether its previous directions issued for discharge of water are being complied with. A Justice BR Gavai led bench has further asked the Authority to inform the court about their next order on water sharing by the states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Karnataka Government had told the Supreme Court last month that it cannot be compelled to ensure release of Cauvery river water as per the stipulation prescribed for the normal year, since the state suffered from distress situation due to failure of south-west Monsoon.
In August last year, Tamil Nadu had approached the top court for the first time seeking a direction to Karnataka to release Cauvery water after the 2018 judgement where the top court allocated water among river basin states modifying 2007 Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal final award.
Case Title: State or Karnataka Vs State of Tamil Nadu and Ors.
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