Indian court orders Vedanta to not reopen copper smelter for a month – petitioner

Screen shot of the Sterlite Copper – Image courtesy of Vedanta via Youtube

NEW DELHI – An Indian court on Friday said Vedanta cannot reopen its South Indian copper smelter until its hears a case challenging an order by the country’s environment court which provided relief to the conglomerate, the petitioner in the case said.

The smelter was ordered shut permanently by the Tamil Nadu state government in May following violent protests against its operation, killing 13 and injuring several others.

The case was filed in the Madras high court by anti-Vedanta campaigner Fatima Babu, challenging a decision by the national green tribunal which set aside the state government’s order.

Vedanta did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment.

(By Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Keith Weir)