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3,000 people died after the Bhopal gas leak on December 2, 1984 In a major setback for the center, the Supreme Court today rejected its petition for more compensation from Union Carbide for the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy. The gas leak that killed more than 3,000 people is one of the world's worst industrial disasters. of the world. The center had called for the case to be reopened and for Union Carbide's successor companies to be asked to pay additional compensation worth Rs 7,844 crore to the victims of the gas leak disaster. The government had argued that the enormity of the actual damage caused to human life and the environment could not be adequately assessed at the time of the agreement in 1989.
In denying the motion, the five-member Constitution caucus said the agreement could only be annulled for fraud, and the center did not discuss that point.
The court also said the center provided no justification for investigating the case after two decades. He ordered that a sum of Rs 50 crore belonging to the Reserve Bank of India be used to settle the outstanding compensation claims.
"We are not satisfied with the Union of India for not providing any justification for addressing this issue after two decades... We are of the opinion that curative petitions cannot be accepted," the court said. "If it is reopened, it could open a Pandora's box and it will be detrimental to claimants," he added.
The Constitution Court, headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and consisting of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Abhay S Oka, Justice Vikram Nath and Justice JK Maheshwar, reserved its verdict on the petition on 12 January.
Union Carbide's successor companies, represented by lead lawyer Harish Salve, told the court that the depreciation of the rupee since 1989 could not be a reason to seek "higher" compensation now.
The firms said the center never suggested at the time of the deal that it was inappropriate.
During the hearing, the court had asked the government to "poke into its own pocket" to provide further compensation.
Union Carbide, now owned by Dow Chemicals, had paid compensation worth Rs 715 crore as part of the deal in 1989.
On December 2, 1984, poisonous methyl isocyanate gas leaked from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal. More than 3,000 people have been killed and more than one lakh affected.
Union Carbide's then-chairman, Warren Anderson, was the main defendant in the case, but did not appear at trial. A Bhopal court declared him a fugitive in 1992. Two non-releasable warrants for his arrest were issued before his death in 2014.
On June 7, 2010, a Bhopal court sentenced seven executives of Union Carbide India Limited to two years in prison.
The center filed the curative petition with the Supreme Court in December 2010 for additional compensation.
The curative motion is the last resort after an unfavorable judgment has been entered and a request for review has been denied. The Center had not filed a motion for review to void the settlement, but wanted the amount increased.
