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The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday filed an appeal in the sessions court in Bhopal, seeking enhancement of the light punishment of two years of imprisonment awarded to convicts, including the then Union Carbide of India Ltd Chairman Keshub Mahindra, in the Bhopal gas tragedy case.
District and Sessions Judge Subhash Kakade will hear the appeal on July 30. The light punishment awarded by the trial court in the world's worst industrial disaster, that left nearly 15,000 dead, had evoked a national outrage CBI Inspector R C Khan, accompanied by the agency's Assistant Public Prosecutor Hemant Shukla, filed the appeal against the Chief Judicial Magistrate order of June 7 convicting seven former executives of UCIL and sentencing them to two years imprisonment.
CBI filed the appeal under section 377 of CrPC. Besides CBI, Madhya Pradesh government has also filed an appeal in the sessions court seeking enhancement of the punishment awarded to the convicts and the case is listed to be heard on August 2.
On the other hand, the convicts too have challenged the sentence handed down to them by the CJM court and their plea will be heard on September 28.
The then CJM Mohan P Tiwari had sentenced the seven accused to two years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1,01750 each on them. All the convicts are out on bail.