SCI Dismisses Panjab’s Plea on Water; PHHC Dismisses Kangana’s Defamation Plea

The Supreme Court of India (SCI) has dismissed the Panjab government's petition against the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s (PHHC) order requiring it to abide by the 2 May decision to release 4.5K cusecs of extra water to Haryana. Meanwhile, Panjab has sent a USD 12M bill to Haryana for operations and maintenance of the Bhakra canal as part of an effort to recover dues owed by the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) partner states. Concurrently, despite stiff opposition from Panjab, the BBMB has cleared the path for deployment of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at Bhakra Dam. BBMB has deposited USD 1M with the Union Ministry for Home for deployment of the force. Panjab has conveyed to the BBMB management that it would not pay anything for the deployment of CISF. In news related to Farmers Protest 1.0 (2020-21), PHHC has dismissed a petition filed by actor-turned-politician Kangana Ranaut for quashing a defamation complaint against her by Mahinder Kaur, an Bathinda-based elderly protester. During Farmers Protest 1.0 (2020-21) Kangana had slandered Kaur saying, 'Ha ha ha she is the same dadi (grandmother) who featured in Time magazine…she is available in 100 rupees.' Kangana had mistaken Kaur for the anti-Citizen Amendment Bill activist Bilkis Bano from Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh protest. However, the farm law protesters had taken the jibe personally saying Kaur was a mother figure to them and rallied against Kangana for being self-appointed a Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson who were trolling the protesters as ‘anti-national and separatists.’ PHHC has also asked the union govt and Chandigarh administration to respond to a petition filed by farmers over a delay in the Union Territory sending a no-objection communication for withdrawal of cases registered during the Farmers Protest 1.0. The union govt issued a policy in 2021 which said upon receiving no-objection from the state, the cases against the farmers registered during the farmer agitation would be withdrawn (earlier coverage).