New Delhi, January 29
A contempt of court petition has been filed against Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal in the Supreme Court, accusing him of making public statements to “defy the court order” on the SYL canal issue.

The petition, filed by Mr Pratap Singh Chautala, son of the late Devi Lal, yesterday urged the apex court to “initiate contempt proceedings against Mr Badal for allegedly making derogatory remarks and statements to defy the directions given by the court on January 15, 2002” on the SYL canal water dispute between the two agrarian states.

The petition said the Punjab Chief Minister had made statements at public rallies and party forums on the SYL issue, defying the order of the apex court.

The court had on January 15 directed Punjab “to continue the digging of the SYL canal, a portion of which has not been completed as yet, and make the canal functional within one year.”

“If within a period of one year, the SYL canal is not completed by Punjab, then the Union Government should get it done through its own agencies as expeditiously as possible, so that the huge amount of money that has already been spent and that would be spent, will not be wasted and Haryana would be able to draw the full quantity of water that has already been allotted to its share,” the apex court order had said.

The petition alleged: “Various statements made by Mr Badal at election meetings seeking votes for Shiromani Akali Dal candidates in the Assembly poll not only bring disrespect to the binding authority of the apex court but also amounts to inciting public feelings against it. These statements made by Mr Badal have not only been exhibited on TV channels but have also been widely published in various daily newspapers.”