The Supreme Court today decided to review its 1996 judgement in the Bhopal gas case, following which a local court had imposed a two-year jail sentence on Keshub Mahindra and six others who were executives of Union Carbide at the time of the tragedy. The apex court has issued notices to the accused and informed the attorney-general.
The decision was taken by a bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia on a curative petition moved by the CBI. A curative petition is the last resort to reopen a case already ruled upon, even after a failed review petition. It is not heard initially in open court and an order is usually passed by a judge in chambers. The Chief Justice will now fix a date to hear the case in open court.
The other judges on the bench were Justices Altamesh Kabir and R V Raveendran.
The decision to move the curative petition was taken by a group of ministers formed after the accused were let off with a light sentence. The original charge against the executives was culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304, Part-II, of the Indian Penal Code), which carries a sentence of ten years’ imprisonment.
In 1996, a Supreme Court bench consisting of then Chief Justice A M Ahmadi and Justice S B Majmudar, reduced the charge from culpable homicide to a rash and negligent act (Section 304A), attracting only two years’ imprisonment. This usually applies to those causing road accidents.
Following this, a Bhopal criminal court tried the seven accused and they were sentenced to two years in a June judgement — 26 years after the tragedy. Following an uproar over the light sentences, a group of ministers was asked to examine a course of action.
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Since the Supreme Court had already dismissed a review petition in 1997 moved by the Bhopal Gas Peedith Sangharsh Samiti, the only course available was to move a curative petition.
In the curative petition, the CBI said the 1996 judgement suffered serious errors, as the charges under Section 304 Part II of the IPC against the accused were quashed without any consideration of the material furnished by the prosecution at that stage.
“Besides, in the course of the trial, categorical evidence has now come to light, which unequivocally points to the commission of offences under Section 304 Part II of the IPC by the accused persons,” the CBI said in its petition.
“This curative petition is an attempt by the state to set right this gross miscarriage of justice and perpetuation of irremediable injustice being suffered by the victims in particular, society at large, and the nation as a whole,” CBI stated.
The CBI also said Mahindra, then chairman of UCC, and the others accused had knowledge about the inherent defects in the operation and maintenance of the plant and no action was taken to rectify these. This resulted in the death of more than 15,000 persons in 1984.