The bench of the Supreme Court comprising five judges will hear the Mullaperiyar dispute between the two states from January 19, 2010 onwards. The suit is filed by Tamilnadu questioning the enactement made by Kerala regarding the maximum level of water that can be allowed in the dam. The state passed an enactment that the level cannot go beyong 136ft when the maximum allowed by the supreme court was 142ft. The court fixed the date after hearing the arguments of K Parasaran from Tamilnadu side and Harish Salve who appeared for Kerala.