The Manmohan Singh government will knock at the doors of the Supreme Court for a review of its previous verdict on the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984, the biggest industrial disaster in the country that is believed to have claimed almost 15,000 lives.
The Group of Ministers, which was constituted to look into various aspects of the accident and is headed by Home Minister P Chidambaram, met today over two sessions and has accepted the law ministry's suggestion to file a curative petition in the Supreme Court on this issue.
Sources in the group said that the government will seek a review of the apex court’s earlier judgment on Bhopal that diluted the charges against key offenders. The government had earlier filed revision petitions to the apex court. But as those petitions were rejected, it will file a fresh curative petition against an earlier Supreme Court judgment of 1996.
The ministers, the sources said, will also ask the government to try and make Dow Chemicals (the current owner of Union Carbide) liable for the clean-up operations pending at the site of the accident. Law ministry sources told Business Standard that a case in this regard is pending at the Jabalpur court in which the government's affidavit has held Dow Chemicals liable for the clean-up expenses.
At the same time, the government will also make fresh attempts to extradite Warren Anderson, then Union Carbide chairman, from the United States. But a section of the establishment is extremely doubtful if the move will bear any result. In government and court records, Anderson is an offender as he has jumped bail. "We discussed all pending legal issues and legal options available to the government after the judgment of trial court. We heard all concerned and reached some tentative conclusions," Chidambaram said after the meeting. He said the Group of Ministers will give its report to Prime Minister Singh on Monday.
In its first meeting on Friday, the nine-member group had considered an increase in compensation to the victims. After discussing the compensation and rehabilitation issue on Friday, the ministers held two sessions on Saturday to discuss health and legal issues. They will again meet on Sunday for environmental aspects before finalising their recommendations. Chidambaram said the group will discuss "how to bring healthcare to people who have suffered and perhaps continue to suffer". Issues related to drinking water will also be discussed.
