New Delhi: The Supreme Court has rejected the Central Government’s petition seeking more compensation for the victims of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy. The central government had filed a petition seeking an additional Rs 7,844 crore from the successor firms of Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) to pay more compensation to the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday, while rejecting the curative petition of the Center, said in its decision that the agreement with Dow Chemicals will not be reopened. More than 3,000 people died in the Bhopal gas tragedy, while more than one lakh people were forced to suffer from diseases throughout their lives.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul gave its verdict on the matter. Justice Sanjeev Khanna, Justice Abhay S Oka, Justice Vikram Nath, and Justice JK Maheshwar are also included in this bench. On January 12, the constitution bench reserved its decision on the petition of the central government. Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), responsible for this accident, is now owned by Dow Chemicals. It paid a compensation of US$470 million (Rs 715 crore at the time of settlement in 1989) following the midnight leak of toxic methyl isocyanate gas from the Union Carbide factory.
Significantly, in 1984, more than 3,000 people died and 1.02 lakh people were affected by the gas leak on the night of 2 and 3 December. The central government has been consistently insisting that the compensation fixed in 1989 did not properly assess the human deaths, disease burden, and the actual damage caused to the environment. Whereas on January 10, the Supreme Court questioned the Center on the petition of the Central Government demanding more compensation from the UCC. The Supreme Court had said that the government cannot work to renegotiate the agreement with the company after more than 30 years.
