Sterlite shut down: Vedanta to challenge order once protests cool down?

Vedanta Resources is working on a legal challenge to the Tamil Nadu government's closure of one of its copper smelters, but it will not proceed until tensions over the deaths of 13 people during protests last week have eased, two sources told Reuters.

The Tamil Nadu government ordered the permanent closure of the smelter on Monday after police fired on protesters demanding its closure on environmental grounds.

London-listed Vedanta, majority owned by billionaire Anil Agarwal, considers it is now left with no other option than to file a writ petition challenging the Tamil Nadu government's decision in the Madras High Court or the Supreme Court in New Delhi, the two sources close to the company said.

"They have not presented a single (piece of) evidence against the company," said one of the sources, both of whom declined to be named. "Vedanta is confident that it has a strong case legally. It has not violated any law."