A few days after the Vizag tragedy, that cost destruction, the Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed the State government to seize the LG Polymers plant in Visakhapatnam and ruled that none will be allowed inside without obtaining prior permission from the court.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice GK Maheswari and Justice Kanneganti Lalitha issued interim orders recently and the same were uploaded on the court’s website. It may be recalled that the court has taken suo motu cognizance of the Vizag gas leak and also heard two petitions filed on the incident.
As per its interim orders, members of the various committees formed to probe the gas leak will have to enter their names on a register at the main gate of the plant before going in for any investigation. LG Polymers management has been directed not to shift movable or immovable assets/properties from the plant.
Similarly, the police, who have already seized passports of the company’s directors, were ordered not to return them without permission from the court. The directors cannot leave the country without the court’s nod.
The court further directed the firm, State and Centre to file an affidavit by May 25 explaining with whose permission styrene stock was shipped to South Korea, and with whose permission the plant was reopened after the lockdown was relaxed and if it did not have such permission, what action the governments have taken.
It also sought to know who gave LG Polymers consent to ship styrene back to South Korea.
