Sutlej-Yamuna Link Canal: SC Rules Against Punjab; Congress MLAs, Amarinder Singh Resign

The top court's verdict comes months before elections in the state where the ruling BJP-Akali Dal combine is trying to keep a resurgent Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party at bay.

The Supreme Court held as unconstitutional the 2004 law passed by the state to terminate the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal water sharing agreement with Haryana and other neighbouring states.

The bench, which also included Justices PC Ghose, Shiva Kirti Singh, AK Goel and Amitava Roy, was unanimous in holding that all the five questions of Presidential reference have to be answered in the negative.

Thursday’s judgment implies that the 2004 Act was not in consonance with the apex court judgment of 2003 which had mandated the construction of the SYL canal that has been stalled.

Amarinder Singh was the state’s chief minister in 2004 when his Congress government through an Act had sought to nullify the SC verdict by stopping the construction of the remaining part of the SYL canal.

The judgment came on the presidential reference of 2004 on the controversy relating to sharing of water from SYL canal by the north Indian states.

The Parkash Singh Badal government had submitted that a fresh tribunal be set up to resolve all disputes with other states including Haryana on all aspects, which will also cover the riparian rights and the dwindling flow of water.

It had said a fresh tribunal was sought in 2003, about 18 months before the 2004 law, to review the 1981 Longowal Accord on river water-sharing in view of depleting flow and other changed circumstances.

The water-sharing agreement was among Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Chandigarh and Jammu and Kashmir.

On Haryana's demand, Punjab had said that after its creation in 1966, it had become a riparian state of the Yamuna and was getting its share. At the same time, it had lost its riparian rights after it was carved out of Punjab.