Article 262 is a constitutional provision in the Constitution of India that deals with the adjudication of disputes relating to the waters of inter-State rivers or river valleys. It was not part of the original Draft Constitution of 1948, but was inserted to provide a permanent solution for inter-state water conflicts, replacing the initial idea of appointing ad-hoc commissions by the President.
The provision works through two key clauses: Article 262(1) empowers Parliament to make a law for the adjudication of any dispute or complaint regarding the use, distribution, or control of waters in any inter-State river or river valley. Crucially, Article 262(2) grants Parliament the power to provide by law that neither the Supreme Court nor any other court shall exercise jurisdiction over such a dispute.
This constitutional power was exercised by Parliament to enact the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act, 1956 (IRWD Act), which provides the mechanism for resolving these disputes. The IRWD Act mandates the Central Government to set up a Water Disputes Tribunal for adjudication if a dispute cannot be settled through negotiations. The Act also contains a Bar of Jurisdiction clause, Section 11, which is based on Article 262(2), excluding the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and other courts in respect of any water dispute referred to a Tribunal.
The IRWD Act, 1956, has been amended multiple times, including in 2002, to mandate time-bound adjudication. A recent proposed change, the Inter-State River Water Disputes (Amendment) Bill, 2019, sought to replace the existing ad-hoc tribunals with a single, permanent Disputes Resolution Committee and a permanent Tribunal, but this Bill lapsed. Article 262 is connected to Entry 17 of the State List (water supply) and Entry 56 of the Union List (regulation and development of inter-State rivers) in the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, highlighting the federal complexity of water management.