Bhopal gas tragedy
Bhopal: The court in Bhopal has scheduled the hearing on various petitions, including those from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), for January 6. These petitions seek the trial of Dow Chemical in connection with the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, which claimed over 3,000 lives and caused environmental harm.
Dow Chemical, based in Michigan, USA, acquired the Union Carbide Corporation, whose Bhopal facility experienced a gas leak on the night of December 2 and 3, 1984, leading to the tragic incident.
Judicial Magistrate First Class Vidhan Maheshwari adjourned the hearing to January 6 after Dow Chemical argued that the case did not fall under the jurisdiction of the Bhopal court. The multinational corporation received a show cause notice from the court based on the petitioners’ requests.
However, the petitioners argued that the Madhya Pradesh High Court settled the jurisdiction matter in 2012, asserting that Dow Chemical should be implicated in the case. Avi Singh, a lawyer representing organizations advocating for the gas tragedy victims, conveyed this position.
Lawyers, led by Supreme Court senior advocate and former advocate general of Chhattisgarh Ravindra Shrivastava and Sandeep Gupta, presented Dow Chemical’s perspective during the proceedings.
A lawyer representing Dow Chemical informed PTI that the case did not fall under the Bhopal court’s jurisdiction, emphasizing that the multinational firm was governed by international law. The lawyer also mentioned that the high court had not conclusively resolved the jurisdiction issue.
Various petitioners, including the CBI and the Bhopal Group for Information and Action, contended that Dow Chemical, as the owner of Union Carbide, should be named as an accused in the criminal case. The toxic methyl isocyanate gas leak from the Union Carbide factory on December 2-3, 1984, resulted in the deaths of over 3,000 people and affected 1.02 lakh others.
