Bhubaneswar: The Orissa High Court has dismissed a petition filed by the Vedanta Limited seeking supply of 150 million tonnes of bauxite by the Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) at a specified price.

In is petition, the Vedanta Limited pleaded that it had signed an agreement with the OMC in 2004 for supply of 150 million tonnes of bauxite at a specified rate.

However, the court observed that the Vedanta Limited could not invoke the agreement that had been terminated by subsequent legal changes.

A HC division bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Murahari Sri Raman held that Vedanta’s claim was based on agreement with the OMC, under which 150 million tonnes of bauxite were proposed to be supplied for its alumina refinery at Lanjigarh.

The HC, however, noted that the agreements between OMC and Vedanta was terminated in 2015 after amendments to Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act brought changes to the legal framework regulating mining operations.

According to the HC, the Vedanta Limited participated in the long-term linkage (LTL) mechanism of Odisha after the termination of the original agreement.  

The corporate house executed another LTL agreement in 2023 and continued to receive supplies under the revised policy framework.

The court ruled that Vedanta Limited had accepted the new policy framework and participated in the LTL mechanism. So, the company now cannot invoke the original agreement, said the court.

“The company is evaluating the order and the legal recourse available to it. The order does not impact the supply of bauxite to Vedanta Aluminium,” said a spokesperson of Vedanta Limited.