Though no reasons were assigned for the sudden transferh, court officials and lawyers associated with the case attribute it to the impending transfer of the Chief Justice. However, there was no official communication from the Madras High Court about the transfer of Chief Justice M S Liberhan, though the news is in the air for sometime now.

For the past five days the Courtheld marathon sessions looking at whether Sterlite Industries should be allowed to reopen the smelter plant, as an ad interim measure, pending final disposal of the writ petition filed by MDMK general secretary, Vaiko and the National Trust for Clean Environment.

Two rounds of arguments were completed with the company just completing its presentation. The company had given a written undertaking to the Court that it would comply with almost all the pre-conditions the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) had suggested.

Sterlite Industries has been praying to the Court for an interim order as the final disposal would take some time. The company was losing Rs 2.50 crore per day on sales alone without considering the fixed overheads. The cash loss is expected to be in the vicinity of Rs 80 lakh per day. The plant is now closed for 22 days.

Counsel for the company also told the Court that Sterlite was likely to face legal action if it does not fullfil its obligations with regard toraw material contracts. There was also a possibility of bankers withdrawing their funding thereby putting the project in jeopardy.