Supreme Court to Hear Tamil Nadu's Cauvery Water Plea on August 13

The Supreme Court will hear Tamil Nadu's plea for an expedited hearing on its application regarding the Cauvery water allocation dispute with Karnataka on Thursday, August 13, 2026. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant listed the matter for hearing.

Tamil Nadu's government, led by Chief Minister Joseph Vijay, argued that a deficit in allocated river water has created a perilous situation for farmers. The state seeks a judicial order compelling Karnataka to implement a Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) decision dated July 30. This decision mandates the release of 3500 cusecs of water daily for 15 days from Karnataka's Kabini and Krishna Raja Sagara reservoirs.

The application, finalized by senior advocates C.S. Vaidyanathan and G. Umapathy, was filed by advocate-on-record B. Karunakaran. Tamil Nadu is requesting the release of 4.536 TMC of water by August 12. The state also urged the court to direct the CWMA to ensure Karnataka makes good on any shortfall at the Billigundulu inter-state point on a pro-rata basis for the period from June 1 to August 12, and to release 26.954 TMC of water forthwith.

Further, Tamil Nadu seeks an order for the CWMA to monitor Karnataka's reservoir flows every ten days and ensure compliance with stipulated releases at Billigundulu. The state contended that Karnataka has consistently defied orders from the Cauvery Tribunal, except during periods of inevitable reservoir surpluses due to floods. Despite recent heavy rainfall and adequate storage in Karnataka's reservoirs (77.537 TMC gross storage as of August 3, 2026), the state has failed to comply with CWMA directions, according to Tamil Nadu's filing.