Vedanta goes to HC for Sterlite resumption

The move comes after the Supreme Court granted the company the liberty to move the high court, while setting aside the permission granted by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to reopen the plant.

The petition, running to over 95 pages, contended while seeking several interim relief sought to call for the records in respect of the impugned order passed by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) on May 23, 2018 and quash the same as arbitrary, illegal and consequently direct the immediate opening of the plant together with restoration of electricity supply by the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board.

The May 23, 2018 order recommending closure of the plant had followed a show cause notice issued after inspection under the Air Act and the Water Act. 

Meanwhile, after the plant had turned into a protest site with the residents opposing all kinds of expansion in the plant, the order passed insisted that the plant will be allowed to operate only to March 31, 2018.

But on the 100th day, the protest took a violent turn with police resorting to firing at the protesters killing as many as 13 protesters. Thereafter, Vedanta challenged the closure order before the NGT, which ruled in its favour. However, based on an appeal, the Supreme Court earlier this month set aside NGT’s order of protest, based on the aspect that it did not have the jurisdiction to entertain the case. 

However, the Supreme Court held “Given the fact that we are setting aside the NGT judgments involved in these appeals on the ground of maintainability, we state that it will be open for Vedanta to file a writ petition in the high court against all the aforesaid orders. If such writ petition is filed, it will be open for Vedanta to apply for interim relief considering that their plant has been shut down since April 09, 2018.”