🏭 Thoothukudi, 2018: The Anti-Sterlite Protest Firing and the Fight for Clean Air

Vedanta’s Sterlite Copper smelter in Thoothukudi’s SIPCOT estate began operating in the late 1990s. For years, residents and environmental groups complained about air and water pollution and regulatory violations; the company disputed the allegations. In February 2018, plans to expand the plant set off a sit-in at Kumareddiyapuram that grew into a city-wide movement.

On the 100th day, thousands marched to the District Collectorate to demand the plant’s permanent closure. Near the Collectorate and at places such as Threspuram, police opened fire.

A commission under retired High Court judge Justice Aruna Jagadeesan, appointed on 23 May 2018, reported to the government in 2022; the report was tabled in the Assembly on 18 October 2022. It found the firing unprovoked and not in self-defence, that police had not followed the rules requiring lesser measures first, and held 17 police personnel, the then Collector and three revenue officials responsible. It recommended ₹50 lakh for each victim’s family (₹20 lakh had already been paid) and action against officials.

• 28 May 2018: the Tamil Nadu government ordered the plant closed and sealed.
• December 2018: the National Green Tribunal set the closure aside; in February 2019 the Supreme Court overturned the Tribunal on jurisdiction.
• 18 August 2020: the Madras High Court upheld the closure.
• 29 February 2024: the Supreme Court dismissed Vedanta’s plea to reopen the plant.

• Article 19(1)(a) and (b) guarantee free speech and the right to assemble peaceably and without arms; Article 19(2)–(3) allow only reasonable restrictions.
• Article 21 protects life — police may use force only when necessary and in proportion; firearms are a last resort after warnings and lesser measures fail.
• Deaths in police action must be independently inquired into; the NHRC and State Human Rights Commission can take up complaints.

The Constitution also asks the State to protect and improve the environment (Article 48A), and every citizen to do the same (Article 51A(g)). The Supreme Court reads the right to a clean environment into Article 21.

• Clean air and water are part of the right to life. Industry must earn a social licence through transparency and compliance.
• Lethal force is a last resort — the inquiry found it was not one here.
• Accountability must follow findings — families still seek justice. Remember the 13.