Advertisement

Updated January 25th, 2020 at 18:24 IST

SC to hear Centre's curative plea seeking more compensation for Bhopal Gas tragedy victims

From January 28 onwards,a 5-judge Supreme Court bench will commence hearing the Centre's curative plea seeking more compensation for Bhopal Gas tragedy victims.

Reported by: Akhil Oka
Supreme Court
| Image:self
Advertisement

From January 28 onwards, a 5-judge Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Arun Mishra, Indira Banerjee, Vineet Saran, MR Shah, and Ravindra Bhat will commence hearing the curative petition by the Centre pertaining to the Bhopal Gas tragedy matter. Originally, the Centre had sought an early listing of the curative plea filed in December 2010. While the SC had directed the listing of the matter in April 2019, the date was eventually pushed to January 2020.  

Read: MP CM Kamal Nath Leads Anti-CAA Rally In Bhopal, Says, The Law 'violates Constitution'

Read: Victims Stage Protest On The 35th Anniversary Of The Bhopal Gas Tragedy In MP

Demands in the curative plea

In its judgment delivered in 1989, the SC had ordered Union Carbide to pay a compensation of $470 million. However, the Centre contends that this was based on a wrong number of injuries and deaths. For instance, the curative plea mentions that 5,295 people died while 70,000 suffered injuries in the tragedy. The earlier figure of casualties was pegged at 3,000. Therefore, the Centre has sought additional compensation of Rs.7,000 crore. Moreover, the curative plea seeks stricter punishment for the convicted Union Carbide executives who allegedly had full knowledge of the fatal design flaws of the pesticide plant in Bhopal.  

Read: Bhopal Gas Tragedy: NGOs Accuse Centre, State Of Colluding With Union Carbide

The Bhopal gas tragedy

There was a massive calamity in Bhopal on December 3, 1984, when the leak of poisonous gas from the Union Carbide pesticide plant killed thousands of people. While the initial death toll was speculated to be less than 3,000, the activists fighting for the Bhopal Gas tragedy estimate that nearly 8,000 to 10,000 people passed away in the tragedy. While Warren Anderson, the Chairman of Union Carbide who was the main accused in the case absconded from legal proceedings in India, a Bhopal court convicted 7 persons associated with the company and sentenced them to two-year imprisonment. Anderson passed away in 2014.  

WATCH: Citing Bofors, 1984 Anti-Sikh Riots And The Bhopal Gas Tragedy, PM Modi's Issues Open Challenge To The Congress To Fight Elections In Name Of Former PM Rajiv Gandhi

Advertisement

Published January 25th, 2020 at 18:24 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo