The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has dismissed a petition filed by an activist seeking a direction to the State Industries Promotion Corporation of Tamil Nadu (SIPCOT) to deny Vedanta’s request to dispose of the properties leased out by SIPCOT for operating the Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper unit in Thoothukudi.
A Division Bench of Justices P. N. Prakash and R. Hemalatha dismissed the petition filed by S. P. Muthu Raman of Tirunelveli district. The petitioner said he came across a news report that stated Vedanta had decided to put up for sale the Sterlite Copper unit in Thoothukudi and had invited applications from interested parties.
While the details of the unit were provided on the official website of the company, there was no mention about the pending cases. The unit was allowed to operate on the property of the government under the leasehold right. No prior consent was obtained from the government by Vedanta before causing the advertisement, he said.
He said by simply selling the production unit and the property, not only criminal prosecution but also the other proceedings that have civil consequences would be hampered. Nowhere, in the government lease does it allow the lessee to sell the leased property that too without the consent of the lessor, the petitioner said.
