New Delhi: In a major setback for the centre, the Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a curative petition seeking additional compensation of Rs 7,400 crore from the successor firms of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) for the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.
The petition filed by the centre had sought that the case be reopened and Union Carbide's successor firms be directed to pay more compensation to the victims.
The government had argued that the enormity of the actual damage caused to human lives and the environment could not be assessed properly at the time of the settlement in 1989.
A five-judge bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said the Centre's plea is not maintainable in law and it also lacked merits on the facts of this case.
"No such fraud has been impleaded by the Union of India and their only contention relates to the number of victims and injuries...," noted the bench, dismissing the Centre's plea.
The bench added that the responsibility was on the Union of India to make good the deficiency in the compensation and the failure to take insurance policies is gross negligence on the part of the Centre. Detailed judgment on the matter will be uploaded later in the day.
On January 12, the top court had reserved its verdict on the Centre's curative petition seeking an additional Rs 7,400 crore from the successor firms of UCC for extending greater compensation to the victims.
During the hearing, the successor firms of the UCC had told the Supreme Court that the Indian government never suggested at the time of settlement (of 1989) that it was inadequate.
The firm's counsel emphasized that the depreciation of the rupee since 1989, cannot become a ground to seek a top-up of compensation now for the Bhopal gas tragedy victims.
Senior advocate Harish Salve, representing successor firms of the UCC, submitted before a bench, also comprising Justices Sanjiv Khanna, Abhay S. Oka, Vikram Nath, and J.K. Maheshwari, that there are affidavits starting from 1995 and ending as late as 2011, where the Indian government has opposed every single attempt to suggest that the settlement is inadequate.
The top court had grilled the Attorney General R. Venkataramani, representing the Centre, on how the government could file a curative petition without filing the review.
It told the AG that the central government was not prohibited from granting relief to the Bhopal gas tragedy victims, and it cannot absolve itself from the welfare state principle saying, "I will take it from them (successor firms of Union Carbide Corporation), as and when taken from them, I will pay..."
The Bhopal gas leak, one of the world's worst industrial disasters, killed over 3,000 people. On the night of December 2, 1984, a toxic chemical, methyl isocyanate (MIC) leaked from Union Carbide India Ltd’s (UCIL’s) pesticide factory turning the city of Bhopal into a colossal gas chamber.
It was India's first major industrial disaster. At least 40 tons of methyl isocyanate gas killed more than 15,000 people and affected over 600,000 workers. Doctors were not aware of the proper treatment methods for the incident.
The stillbirth rate and the neonatal mortality rate increased by up to 300% and 200% respectively. The gas leak impacted trees and animals as well. The horrific effects of the gas continue to this day.