Adjudication of Inter-State River Water Disputes
Official heading: “Adjudication of disputes relating to waters of inter-State rivers or river valleys”
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part XI, Article 262, printed pages 154–155
- Last human source-link check
- Not yet checked
- Last human legal review
- Not yet reviewed
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1. In One Sentence
Empowers Parliament to provide for the adjudication of inter-State river disputes and exclude the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and other courts.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Inter-State river water disputes involve intense political, economic, and regional rivalries that ordinary court litigation is often ill-equipped to resolve smoothly.
Article 262(1) empowers Parliament by law to provide for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint regarding the use, distribution, or control of the waters of any inter-State river or river valley.
Under clause (2), Parliament may enact a law barring the Supreme Court and all other courts from exercising jurisdiction over any such dispute.
Acting under Article 262, Parliament enacted the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956, setting up specialized ad hoc Tribunals (such as for the Cauvery, Krishna, Godavari, and Ravi-Beas rivers) whose decisions have the force of a Supreme Court decree.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
Riparian States contest seasonal reservoir releases during a drought year, leading one State to file an original civil suit in the Supreme Court.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 262 creates a dedicated constitutional mechanism for river federalism.
- Dedicated dispute mechanism: Authorizes Parliament to design non-court adjudication for river valleys.
- Judicial bar: Explicitly permits excluding the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and High Courts.
- Article 136 oversight: Does not eliminate the Supreme Court’s extraordinary constitutional review under Article 136.
5. Operative Constitutional Text
6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations
Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.
- •Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part XI, Article 262, printed pages 154–155 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.