The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court had foreseen the violent scenes witnessed during Tuesday’s anti-Sterlite protest in Thoothukudi district. Disposing of a writ petition filed by Vedanta, the holding company of Sterlite, seeking protection for the plant, the court had, last Friday, said: “The wordings in the pamphlets (calling for the protest on Tuesday) indicate that the protesters do not have any intention of conducting a peaceful protest.”
Justice M.S. Ramesh went on to state: “It is not in dispute that the pamphlets calling upon the general public to protest on May 22, 2018 to demand the factory’s closure have been widely circulated...On an overall reading of the pamphlets, the proposed protest is likely to trigger a law and order situation.”