Supreme Court rejects Vedanta’s plea to review Thoothukudi plant order

A view of the Sterlite Copper plant in Thoothukudi.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Supreme Court has dismissed a review petition filed by Vedanta Sterlite to reconsider its February judgment refusing to direct the reopening of the company’s Thoothukudi copper plant.

The plant was closed six years ago on grounds of pollution. The apex court judgment had endorsed the public’s right to health over sheer industrial gains.

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“The application for listing the review petition in open court is rejected. Having perused the review petitions, there is no error apparent on the face of the record. No case for review has been established. The review petitions are, therefore, dismissed,” a three-judge Bench of the Supreme Court recorded in a short order dated October 22 and published on Saturday.

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The review petition was dismissed by the Bench headed by then Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, who retired on November 10.

In February, the apex court had upheld a Madras High Court decision of August 2020, which had confirmed the decisions of the Tamil Nadu government and the State Pollution Control Board to permanently shut down the plant in 2018.

The court had said the closure of an industry was never a first choice. But the long and repeated breaches coupled with serious violations by Vedanta had left the High Court and the statutory authorities no other option but to bring the curtain down on the Thoothukudi plant. Anything else would have been sheer obliviousness of their plain duty to the public, the court had noted.

“We are conscious of the fact that the unit has contributed to the productive assets of the nation and providing employment and revenue in the area,” the court had said.

But equally relevant, it had noted, were the principles of sustainable development, public trust, and finally, that a polluter should pay.

“The health and welfare of the residents of the area is a matter of utmost concern. In the ultimate analysis, the State government is responsible for preserving and protecting their concerns,” the court had surmised.

The State government had strongly opposed the reopening of the plant, arguing that the only “way forward” for Vedanta was to “sell the plant and go elsewhere”. The 2018 closure of the plant was preceded by nearly 30 years of local protests, which had even led to an incident of police firing. eom