The Centre on October 11, 2022 informed the Supreme Court of its resolve to pursue its nearly 12-year-old curative petition seeking enhancement of compensation to the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy, over and above the $470 million already paid by Union Carbide.
"The government is very keen to pursue this matter… It is a concern of the government that we cannot abandon the victims," Attorney General of India R. Venkataramani, appearing for the Union, submitted before a Constitution Bench led by Sanjay Kishan Kaul.
The previous hearing on September 20 had witnessed Solicitor General Tushar Mehta seeking more time to get instructions from the government as the case had come up for hearing after several years’ hiatus..
The court had in that hearing said it would proceed only after the government made its stand clear on whether it wanted to press the curative plea or not. The five-judge Bench had then posted the case on October 11 to hear the government's answer.
"We are keen… the tragedy is unfolding almost every day. More than one aspect of the matter has to be unraveled perhaps for the first time. I have looked into examples elsewhere both in opening settlements. We have considerable literature when courts have gone beyond the settlements," Mr. Venkataramani submitted.
In its curative plea, the Centre had contended that the compensation, determined in 1989, was arrived at on assumptions of truth unrelated to realities. An earlier five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court had in 2011 issued notice to respondents, including Union Carbide Corporation, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemicals Co., U.S.; Dow Chemicals; McLeod Russel India, Kolkata, and Eveready Industries, Kolkata.
The Centre had sought a re-look of the May 4, 1989 and subsequent October 3,1991 orders of the Supreme Court, contending that the 1989 settlement was seriously impaired. The government has sought additional funds of over Rs. 7400 crore from the pesticide company.
The respondents questioned the very maintainability of the government's curative plea. They said the government had not filed a review petition against the settlement order. They said the curative has been filed after a gap of 19 years.
Several NGOs representing the victims also sought to be impleaded, but the respondents said they had not filed the curative separately and cannot piggyback on the government.
Senior advocate Sanjay Parikh and advocate Karuna Nundy said they represent associations of victims and their voices need to be heard by the court.
The court directed the government and the respondents to file joint compilations and synopsis. It did not foreclose the right of the NGOs to be heard and said they would be called upon to provide assistance to the court at the relevant stage at the court's discretion.
The court scheduled the case next on January 10.
The tragedy had unfolded in Bhopal (in the State of Madhya Pradesh) on the intervening night of December 2-3,1984 when the highly dangerous and toxic gas, Methyl Isocynate (MIC),escaped from the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL). It resulted in the death of 5,295 human beings, injuries to almost 5,68,292 persons besides loss of livestock and loss of property of almost 5,478 persons.
