Monday, December 12, 2011

DMK'S AFFIDAVIT IN APEX COURT ON MULLAIPERIYAR ISSUE

AN APPLICATION FOR INTERVENTION UNDER ORDER XLVII READ WITH ORDER VI RULE 2 (3) OF SUPREME COURT RULES,1966.



Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, a recognized political party represented by its General Secretary, Prof.K.Anbazhagan,
Anna Arivalayam,

No.367-369, Anna Salai,

Chennai 600 018                 …. INTERVENER


 To,
  
The Hon'ble Chief Justice of India and His Companion Justices of the
Hon'ble Supreme Court of India.



1


The Humble  Application of the


Intervener above named:




MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH
1. That the applicant herein is the Intervener filing the present application       seeking       indulgence       of       this       Hon’ble       Court       for permitting to intervene in the above Application No.19 of 2011 in Original Suit No.3 of 2006 filed by the State of Kerala       for urgent direction to lower the storage level at Mullai Periyar Dam from 136 ft. to 120 ft
2. The Intervener the DMK party is a recognized political party which  was  a  ruling  party  in  the  State  of  Tamil  Nadu  from May  2006 to  May 2011  which diligently  pursued  the  above Original Suit. In this application the party is represented by its General Secretary. The Applicant is not only a proper party but also a necessary party for the effective adjudication of the issues involved in the Application filed by the       State  of  Kerala.  It  is deeply  interested  in  the  welfare  and  wellbeing  of  nearly  80 million people of the state of Tamil Nadu.
3. That it is submitted that this Honble Court vide Judgment dated 27.02.2006 disposed of the Writ Petition No.386 of 2001 with Transferred  Cases (C ) Nos.56-59 and 96-99 of 2002 by permitting the storage  level of Mullai Periyar Dam to be  raised to 142 feet and eventually to 152 feet.  Therefore, as per the Judgment of this Hon’ble Court dated 27.02.2006, the height of the Mullaiperiyar  Dam  had  to  be  raised  to  142  feet.  This Judgment has become final and binding on the State of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
4. In      the  meantime,      the      Government      of      Kerala, in      order      to circumvent the implementation of the judgment of this Hon’ble Court,      passed the       Kerala      Amendment  Act      4      of         2006. Consequently an, Original Suit being O.S.No.3 of 2006 was filed by the State of  Tamil Nadu against the State of Kerala before this  Hon’ble Court.  The  relief  sought  for  in  the  suit  was  a declaration that the Amendment Act 4 of       2006 passed by the Kerala State Legislature be declared ultra vires in its application to the Mullai Periyar Dam covered by the Inter State Agreement of 1886 and for permitting the state of Tamil Nadu to raise the storage level of the Dam in accordance with the judgment of this Hon’ble Court      dated          27.02.2006      delivered      in          Writ   Petition No.386 of 2001 with Transferred Cases (C ) Nos.56-59 and 96-99 of 2002. It is submitted that the above Original Suit was filed under Article 131 of Constitution of India. The said suit is still pending.
5. In one of the interlocutory applications filed in the said Original Suit, this Hon’ble Court constituted an Empowered Committee under the chairmanship  of the former Chief Justice of India Hon’ble Justice Dr.A.S.Anand with Mr Justice K.A.Thomas and Mr  Justice  A.R.Lakshmanan,  former  Judges  of  the  Hon’ble Supreme Court as representatives of the Government of Kerala and  Tamil Nadu respectively,       apart from two other members. The  Empowered Committee constituted by this Honble Court visited the  Dam  sites,  discussed  with  various  officials  and collected inputs from various sources in order to submit its report to this Honble Court by February 2012.
6. That       it     is       submitted       that       the  Government       of       Kerala       had systematically       and        deliberately created       fear psychosis       and unfounded fears in the minds of people of Kerala regarding the safety  of  the  Mullaiperiyar  Dam  leading  to  law  and  order problem. The normal life in the border Districts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala had been seriously affected and greatly suffered by breach       of       public       tranquility,       wide       spread   agitation       and disruption of transport.
7. It is submitted that the failure of the Government of Kerala in not allaying  the  apprehension of the people of Kerala further aggravated the problem. On  the other hand the Kerala State Legislature  has  passed  a  resolution  on  09.12.2011  seeking appropriate action to reduce height of the water level in  the Mullaiperiyar Dam from existing 136 feet  to 120 feet after filing the  present  application. In the light of the Judgment of this Hon’ble  Court  permitting  the  raising  of  storage  level  of  the Mullaiperiyar  Dam  from  the  existing  136  to  142  feet,  the resolution of the Kerala State Legislature is inappropriate apart from offending the Rule of Law and Doctrine of Separation  of Powers.       The       application   filed       the       State       of       Kerala       seeking direction from this Hon’ble Court for the reduction of storage level  from  136  feet  to  120  feet  is  without  any  justification whatsoever. It is pertinent to  point that the Kerala Legislative Assembly       on   an       earlier       passed       a     legislation,       being             Kerala Amendment Act 2006 to maintain the storage level of the Dam at 136 feet. Now the Kerala Legislative Assembly wants the reduction of storage level to 120 ft. This Hon’ble Court may be pleased to take note of this dichotomy and the ambivalent stand taken by the State of Kerala.
8. It is submitted that the storage level of Mullaiperiyar Dam needs to be raised from the existing 136 feet to 142 feet and the order of this Hon’ble Court dated 27.02.2006 requires be implemented immediately pending the disposal of the  Original Suit No.3 of 2006,  so as to restore the rule of law normalcy in both of States. In this  connection, it is submitted that the Judgment       dated 27.02.2006 was        delivered            by       this       Honble       Court       after appropriate consideration the relevant report of the committee of experts. The present Empowered Committee constituted by this Hon’ble Court is likely to  submit its report by February 2012. While so, there       is absolutely no rhyme or reason nor any legal justification for the State of Kerala to seek a direction to  reduce the height of the storage       level of the Mullaiperiyar Dam from 136 feet to 120 feet. The apprehension regarding the  safety of the       Dam       is       unsupported       by       any       expert       report       or       other acceptable materials.
9. That       it       is       submitted       that        Applicant/Intervener           is       a       major political party which was ruling party of state of Tamil Nadu for five terms  headed by a senior statesman and an octogenarian who had been pursuing  the issues concerning the people of Tamil Nadu for several decades. The  applicant is not only a proper       party       and       also       a       necessary       party       for       the  effective adjudication of the       issues involved in the Application No.19 of 2011 filed by the State of Kerala. Further, the Intervener is filing the present  application with a view to bring the facts to the knowledge  of  this  Hon’ble  Court  so  that  appropriate  orders could be passed by this Hon’ble Court to render justice. It is in the interest of justice that the Intervener is allowed to intervene in the Application No.19 of 2011 in Original Suit No.3 of 2006 filed by the State of Kerala.
PRAYER
It is therefore, most respectfully prayed that this Hon’ble court may be pleased to :
(i) permit the Applicant/Intervenor to intervene in the Application No.19 of 2011 in Original Suit No.3 of 2006 filed by the State of Kerala ; and
(ii)       dismiss the said Application No.19 of 2011 in OriginaSuit No.3 of 2006 filed by State of Kerala ;and
(iii) Pass any further order or orders as this Hon’ble Court may deem just and proper in the facts and circumstances of the present case.
AND FOR THIS ACT OF KINDNESS THE INTERVENOR AS IN DUTY BOUND SHALL EVER PRAY.
FILED ON: DRAWN AND FILED BY NEW DELHI

No comments:

Post a Comment

Tamil Guardian VIEW: Take Gotabaya Rajapaksa to The Hague

URL:  https://www.tamilguardian.com/content/tg-view-take-him-hague Amidst a whirlwind week in Sri Lankan politics, Gotabaya Rajapaksa has re...