SYL canal: No early hearing

The Supreme Court today refused to grant an early hearing to the Haryana government8217;s request to take up the Presidential reference on the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal without any further loss of time.

Senior counsel Shanti Bhushan, who mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal, said the reference had been pending for over a year and needed to be taken up urgently.

However, the court said this would be difficult, given its packed schedule.

8216;8216;You are concerned with this matter. I have 38 other Constitution Bench matters in mind, all of which have significant ramifications,8217;8217; Chief Justice Sabharwal observed.

The bench said the matter could be taken up only after the summer vacation.