Govt Accepts Its Negligence over Bhopal Gas Verdict

April 13, 2011 by News Desk

On Wednesday Union government confessed that it had slept over the Supreme Courts patently unjust judgment for fourteen years and public rage only made them to realize the mistake done by them over the Bhopal gas tragedy. The entire nation outcries against the trial court judgmentto punish the accused with just 2-years imprisonment for such a huge tragedy resulted in Bhopal.

A constitution bench comprises of Chief Justice SH Kapadia and Justice Kabir, RV Raveendran, B Sudershan Reddy and Aftab Alam blamed the delay of the government as anticipated in seeking the reconsideration of the SCs judgment in 1996. 1996 judgment had completely changed the scenario of the crime of the accused person from the section 304-II to 304A of Indian Penal Code.

In fact, 304-II entails a maximum of ten-year imprisonment on the filed charges which were culpable homicide not amounting to murder, and Section 304A entails with a maximum of 2-years jail term for pure negligence actions.

Attorney general GE Vahanvati, appearing for the CBI and government said in this context as We may have made mistakes. When the trial court judgment came on June 7, 2010 and a huge public outcry followed, we examined the matter and found that something is staring us at the face-two-year punishment for the worst industrial disaster in the world that killed more than 5,000 people. He also added The Supreme Court in 1996 took into account the cumulative omissions and commissions that led to the tragedy but strangely ruled that these were fit for fastening Section 304A and not Section 304 II. It erred in saying that the accused did not do anything patently criminal on the fateful intervening night of December 2-3, 1984 leading to leakage of deadly methyl isocyanate gas.

Vahanvati said the apex court should clarify that the 1996 judgment would not stand in the way of the sessions court considering the evidence to frame charges under Section 304 II. The same thing is also agreed by the Vivek Tankha who is ppearing for Madhya Pradesh Government.

Ram Jethmalani, senior advocate appearing for one Ramaswamy Iyer also said, the government did not act prudently immediately after the tragedy and despite taking over the victims right to sue Union Carbide, settled for a meager sum of $470 million.