NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has dismissed a review petition filed by the Tamil Nadu government in the Mekedatu case, also rejecting its request that the matter be heard in open court instead of judges’ private chambers.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant dismissed the petition, observing that no sufficient grounds had been made out for a review of its earlier order dated November 13, 2025.
"Therefore, this review petition is dismissed. Consequently, if there are any pending interlocutory applications, they are also deemed to be disposed of," ordered the three-judge bench led by Supreme Court Chief Justice Surya Kant.
In the Mekedatu matter, the Tamil Nadu government had originally moved the Supreme Court in 2018 seeking a stay on the permission granted on November 22, 2018, by the Central Water Commission to the Karnataka Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited, a Karnataka government undertaking based in Bengaluru, to proceed with the preparation of the Detailed Project Report for the Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir and Drinking Water Project.
Secondly, it sought a direction to the Central Water Commission under the Ministry of Water Resources to withdraw its letter dated November 22, 2018.
This letter had been issued to the Managing Director of the Karnataka Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited, granting permission for the preparation of the Detailed Project Report for the proposed project.
The Supreme Court dismissed that petition on November 13, 2025. In its order, the court observed, "It appears that the State of Karnataka intends to construct a dam across the Cauvery River at Mekedatu, under a project titled "Mekedatu Balancing Reservoir Cum Drinking Water Project."
The court had further noted, "We are of the view that the petition filed by the Government of Tamil Nadu is based on a complete misconception, given that the responsibility to examine this issue has already been entrusted to an expert committee and remains under that committee's active consideration."
The bench also observed that every state has the freedom to utilise the water allocated to it in a manner it deems fit, stating, "No other state has any right to interfere in decisions regarding the management and utilization of water allocated to a specific state; however, stipulating that interference would be permissible only if such actions result in a reduction of the water quantity allocated to that state," it added.
Challenging the order, the Government of Tamil Nadu filed a review petition in the Supreme Court on December 11, 2025, contending that neither the Cauvery Tribunal award nor the Supreme Court’s 2018 judgment upholding the award had granted permission for the Mekedatu project. It argued that the November 13, 2025 order was contrary to earlier judicial findings and therefore required reconsideration.
The review petition was later listed for hearing in the private chambers of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices K. Vinod Chandran and Vipul M. Pancholi on April 15, 2026.
On April 13, 2026, Krishnamoorthy, counsel for the Tamil Nadu government, moved an application before the bench seeking that the matter be heard in open court rather than in chambers.
In its final order dated May 21, 2026, the bench rejected the plea for open court hearing and declined to review its earlier judgment, stating, "The application seeking to list the review petition for a hearing in open court is rejected. This petition was filed seeking a review of the judgment delivered on November 13, 2025. We have carefully examined the contents of the review petition as well as the documents annexed thereto. We are satisfied that there are no sufficient grounds to warrant a review of the judgment delivered on November 13, 2025."
