SC: Talks okay, but dignity & verdict of court be respected

The Supreme Court on Thursday said it was not averse to talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana to resolve Satluj-Yamuna Link canal issue but dignity of the court and the verdict should be "considered and respected".

The apex court's remark came after a bench of Justices P C Ghose and Amitava Roy was informed by Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar that the Prime Minister has met Punjab Chief Minister Amrinder Singh and his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar on the issue on April 20 and there were points and counter-points from both the parties.

Maintaining that another round of meeting was also held on the contentious issue between Modi and the two Chief Ministers on the sidelines of a recent Niti Aayog meet with the Council of Chief Ministers, the SG said if some time was given, then a solution could be explored. "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 said 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, when the apex court will be on summer vacation, expressed regret for not being able to deliver the judgement due to paucity 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," Justice Ghose, who headed the bench, said.