AMMK plea seeks nod to protest against Sterlite Copper

Petitioner Henry Thomas, a functionary of Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK), in his petition said AMMK had decided to conduct a protest meeting against Sterlite from 5 to 10 pm on April 8, and a permission letter was submitted to the Thoothukudi ASP. But citing law and order issues, permission was not granted. 

However, they would conduct the public meeting without any law and order problems and it would not cause inconvenience to the public, the petitioner said. So, the court should direct the police to grant permission for the protest, prayed the petitioner. 

A section of the people are protesting against Sterlite, while others are for Sterlite and so if permission is granted, there would be law and order problem, the prosecutor had argued. 

Also Sterlite Copper was functioning smoothly for 24 years based on the directions of the Supreme Court, the prosecutor said. 

However, the petitioner’s counsel argued that the permission given to Sterlite Copper expired on March 31 and the plant was functioning illegally. Also, the AMMK said it is ready to follow guidelines laid by the High Court.