The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Tamil Nadu government to substantiate its claim as a lessee to the Mullaperiyar dam agreement of 1886 entered between the then Government of India and the princely State of Travancore.
A five-Judge Constitution Bench of Justices R.M. Lodha, H.L. Dattu, C.K. Prasad, Madan B. Lokur and M.Y. Eqbar sought this clarification from senior counsel Vinod Bobde, during the course of final hearing of the suit filed by Tamil Nadu questioning the law passed by Kerala in 2006, constituting the Dam Safety Authority to regulate the dams in the State.
Even as Mr. Bobde was reading the 1886 agreement, Justice Lodha told the counsel “we can understand that the Government of India is the lessee and the State of Travancore is the lessor. After Travancore’s merger, Kerala became the lessor State; but tell us how Tamil Nadu derives its rights as a lessee (after 1947).” Mr. Bobde quoting Article 295 (1) said all the properties and rights vested in the Union before the commencement of the Constitution were transferred to the State, if the purposes specified pertained to the State. Not satisfied with the reply Justice Lodha told the counsel “this Article helps Kerala. They have stepped into the shoes of the lessor. How can you say Tamil Nadu has stepped into the shoes of the lessee?’’.
