CHENNAI, Aug 18 (Reuters) - An Indian court refused to allow the reopening of a south Indian copper smelter, local media reported on Tuesday, over two years after it was shut over pollution concerns.

Police in May 2018 killed 13 people protesting against alleged pollution from the smelter. A week after the bloodshed, the Tamil Nadu state government ordered the smelter shut.

A spokeswoman for Sterlite Copper, a unit of Vedanta Ltd, did not immediately comment on the matter. A lawyer for the Tamil Nadu government did not respond to messages and calls seeking comment on the Madras High Court judgment. (Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Editing by Kim Coghill)