Madras HC grants interim stay on order halting Sterlite Copper expansion

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has issued an interim stay on the government's order that halted Sterlite's expansion plan.  

The High Court of Madras on Wednesday heard the writ petition filed by Sterlite Copper challenging the cancellation of land allotment by SIPCOT for its copper smelter expansion. The company was planning to double its capacity with an additional investment of Rs 25 billion. It was during the civil works of this phase that the local public raised allegations against the factory and protested.   

The case was heard by Justice V Parthiban. Senior advocate PS Raman appeared on behalf of Sterlite Copper and Chella Pandian, senior advocate and additional AG, appeared for the state. 

While the order copy was not available immediately, Sterlite in a statement said that the judge observed that there was a large difference between public perception and the ground reality. 

The judge noted that just because some sections of society were expressing concerns, the state cannot make decisions solely to appease them. Further, the judge said that the court cannot be swayed by public perception and has to judge the case on facts alone.  

The judge was of the opinion that the balance of convenience lies in favour of Sterlite Copper and repeatedly stated that this order to cancel the land allotment was a political order just to appease a section of people and that public perception might be based on incorrect facts and assumptions.

The court granted a stay and interim injunction in the matter of the cancellation of land allotment by SIPCOT to Sterlite Copper.  

P Ramnath, CEO of Stellite Copper, said, "We are happy that the high court has only considered the facts in the case and granted a stay to the state's order, which was purely made considering the people's emotions."

The protest against the Sterlite factory in Thoothukudi and the expansion plans had resulted in the deaths of over 11 people who participated in a demonstration.   

After the public protest, SIPCOT cancelled the land allotment for the expansion plan. The government has also issued an order directing the facility to be permanently shut down. The company has challenged this with the National Green Tribunal, Delhi, and an expert committee appointed by the tribunal conducted public hearings in Thoothukudi and Chennai last month.