The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Tamil Nadu government to explain what kind of violations were committed by the Vedanta copper smelter facility in Tuticorin, causing the plant to be shut down.
The apex court's three-judge bench, led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, said that a factory has to comply with the law and it could not say that it will only comply with those provisions which authorities point out.
"At the same time, you (TN government) must point out what violation has been committed if you are closing a plant. You need to establish it," the apex court said. It fixed the matter for further hearing next Thursday.
The apex court went on to observe that the TN government has to prove that there was an irreparable injury caused by Vedanta and that the closure of the plant was the only option.
"You need to tell us the reasons (for closure of the plant)," the CJI said and also asked the TN government to consider whether an expert committee can be formed to explore the reopening of the plant with strict conditions to ensure environmental safeguards.
Senior advocate C S Vaidyanathan, appearing for the TN government, submitted that Vedanta was indiscriminately dumping gypsum and slag in the area outside the factory premises.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court had said that it would ensure that terms would be put to it by an expert panel to resume operations after satisfying environmental safeguards.
Vedanta had filed a petition in the top court challenging the Madras High Court’s decision against the reopening of the plant.
It is to be noted that the closure order was passed immediately after the plant had turned into a protest site with locals opposing its expansion. The protest took a violent turn after several days, when police opened fire on the protesters, leading to the deaths of several people.
The SC's proposal of a special committee to prescribe safeguards to resume operations at the plant was opposed by the TN government, citing repeated violations by Vedanta.
