NEW DELHI: India's top court said it was not averse to talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana, to resolve the long-standing Satluj-Yamuna Link canal issue. However, it said, the dignity of the court and the verdict should be “considered and respected.”
The court's remark came soon after a bench consisting of Justices PC Ghose and Amitava Roy was informed by Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar that the PM met Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar regarding the issue, on April 20. The SG said another round of meeting was also held on the contentious issue between Modi and the two CMs on the sidelines of a Niti Aayog meet.
“We have no issues if the matter is settled but there is a decree of this court and it should be taken into account during the talks,” the bench said. It added that the “dignity of this court and dignity of decree needs to be respected. We don't wish to say anything further on the talks.” Justice Ghose, who is to superannuate on May 27, given the SC would be on summer vacation, expressed regret for not being able to deliver the judgment due to a lack of time. “When we started to hear the matter, we were eager to deliver the verdict and settle the issue but due to deferment and adjournment, it could not be done,” he said.
Senior advocate RS Suri, appearing for Punjab, talked about the meeting with the PM and said certain facts had come up which need to be ascertained. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, for Haryana, said there was no fruitful result and the possibility of any amicable settlement also looked very remote. “The matter has been pending before the bench since November last. There are already two decrees of the court and we are anxiously waiting for these to be executed by the plaintiff,” he said.
