CHANDIGARH, May 22 — The Punjab government on Thursday accused both the Centre and Haryana of deliberately concealing crucial information from the Punjab and Haryana High Court in the ongoing dispute over the release of additional water from the Bhakra Beas system.
Appearing before the Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sumeet Goel, senior advocate Gurminder Singh, representing Punjab, said the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) chairman had referred the matter to the Central Government on April 29, acting on Haryana’s request, after a disagreement arose between the two states. However, he alleged, this development was not disclosed to the court.
“Once the reference was made, the BBMB chairman became functus officio—he had no further authority to act on the issue,” Gurminder Singh argued. Yet, the chairman still presided over a BBMB meeting the very next day, April 30, without disclosing the referral to the Centre.
He also told the court that the Union government had failed to inform the Bench about a key meeting convened under the Home Secretary, and misrepresented its purpose as being about law and order instead of water release.
Punjab termed the omission as “institutional bullying” and said the concealment materially affected the court’s previous decision. “The high court might not have passed the order it did if these facts were disclosed,” Singh asserted. He alleged that the BBMB had misused court proceedings by acting as an aggrieved party only to seek post-facto approval of an “illegal act.”
The allegations were strongly denied by the Centre. Additional Solicitor-General Satya Pal Jain and senior panel counsel Dheeraj Jain rejected claims of misrepresentation. “Punjab is trying to delay the matter and evade compliance with court orders,” Jain told the Bench.
The court has listed the matter for further hearing on Friday, when the Centre and Haryana will continue their arguments.
