Supreme Court Appoints Mediators to Resolve Northeast Border Issues

New Delhi, Aug 21 : The Supreme Court today appointed a two-member mediation team to examine the border dispute between Assam and Nagaland but rejected the plea for for recusal of Justice Tarun Chatterjee from being the chairperson of the "Local Commission" constituted to resolve the row.

The apex court said the mediators comprising senior advocates Sriram Panchu and Nirjan Bhat would submit its interim report to the court by December 6 and asked the Chief Secretaries of Assam and Nagaland to assist the team in hammering out an amicable solution.

The first meeting of the team would be convened in Delhi on September 18 by the Union Home Ministry and the second meeting shall be held within four weeks thereafter, the apex court said in its order.

A Bench of Justices Markandeya Katju and T S Thakur, however, rejected an application moved by Assam's Advocate General K N Balagopal seeking recusal of Justice Tarun Chatterjee(retd) from being chairperson of the "Local Commission." "Let us give a try to the mediation efforts.

There have been number of Tribunals and Commissions on various issues but they have not solved the problems.

The Tribunal passed an order in favour of Karnataka in the Cauvery dispute but there were protests in Tamil Nadu," the Bench observed.

The apex court passed the order while dealing with Assam's application seeking Justice Chatterjee's recusal as chairperson of the Local Commission constituted earlier.

Advocate General Balagopal told the apex court that judicial prorpriety demanded that Justice Chatterjee should recuse himself as he was part of the Bench which had on September 25, 2006, constituted the Commission with Justice S N Variava, a retired judge, as chairperson.

The appointment, he said, was made on the basis of names suggested by then Attorney General.

The counsel pointed out that Justice Variava subsequently expressed "personal difficulties" and withdrew from the Commission by a communication dated December 26, 2009. He said that thereafter the apex court passed an order appointing Justice Chatterjee as chairperson of the Commission.

According to counsel "judicial propriety required" that a judge, who was part of the Bench which constituted the Commission, should not himself become the chairperson.

However, the Bench said the state should have raised the objection on January 12, 2010, when the order appointing Justice Chatterjee was made.

Hence, it dismissed the application. Justice Chatterjee was recently in the news after the CBI gave him a clean chit in the UP Government's multi-crore PF scam.