The judge dismissed their claim saying Union Carbide had sold all its shares in the plant and used the money to build a hospital in Bhopal.
Former Supreme Court Chief Justice A H Ahmadi, facing flak for the 1996 verdict in the Bhopal gas tragedy case, said on Thursday that he had not committed any impropriety by agreeing to head a multi-million dollar trust set up by the Union Carbide after the gas leak. But another former CJI J S Verma felt Ahmadi should not have accepted the task. "It is a question of propriety in the public eye," Verma said observing personally he would like to keep away from anything related
At least 3,787 people were killed and more than five lakh were affected physically after a toxic gas leaked from the pesticide factory on the intervening night of December 2 and 3, 1984.
Twenty-six years after one of the worst industrial disasters in the world -- the Bhopal gas tragedy -- claimed thousands of lives, a local court found all the eight accused guilty of criminal negligence in the case.
Just months before the deadly gas leak in Bhopal killed 15,000 people, journalist Rajkumar Keswani had warned that the 'city stood on the edge of a volcano'. He speaks of his 26-year battle to get justice for the victims.
Back in September 2002, Shakti Bhatt/Rediff.com located the former Union Carbide chairman's luxury home in New York, declared unknown by the American and Indian governments. Rediff.com reproduces the feature about his life in hiding.
Families of the deceased and people who bore the brunt of the industrial disaster are now signing a petition, to be sent to the Supreme Court, requesting it to start hearing a curative petition of the government filed in December 2010 for more compensation.
A petition has been filed in the National Green Tribunal's Bhopal bench, seeking an assurance from the Madhya Pradesh government that the Union Carbide waste disposal in Pithampur won't harm people in nearby areas. The petition, filed by a Jabalpur-based social organisation, has urged the NGT to direct the state's chief secretary to declare on oath about the safety of people in Pithampur in Dhar district where the waste has been transported for disposal. The petition also seeks direction to the MP government to publish a specific report regarding the disposal of this waste to allay public concerns.
The ground water around the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal continues to be contaminated even 28 years after the world's largest industrial disaster in which leak of a poisonous gas had killed more than 15,000 people, the Supreme Court was told on Tuesday.
Twenty-six years after one of the worst industrial disasters, Bhopal Gas Tragedy, which claimed thousands of lives occurred, a local court trying the case would pronounce its verdict on June 7.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday said a commission will be formed to look into all aspects of the Bhopal gas tragedy to ensure that the guilty are punished and victims get adequate compensation. He said his government will ensure that the truth comes to the fore. The victims have not received justice even after 25 years of the tragedy, Chouhan said. Chouhan said that since 1980, a number of industrial accidents took place in the factory.
Gas affected areas in Bhopal are still bereft of basic amenities.
A Group of Ministers on Friday gave its approval to the Madhya Pradesh government to dispose of 350 metric tonnes of Union Carbide toxic waste in Germany.
Amnesty International has called on the Dow Chemical Company to appear before a Bhopal court this week to explain why its subsidiary Union Carbide Company repeatedly ignored summons in the 1984 gas leak case.
Laying emphasis on striking a balance between environment and development on the 30th anniversary of Bhopal Gas tragedy, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday said all measures should be taken to avert a repeat of such an industrial disaster.
There is little hope of any justice in the Bhopal gas leak case. If the tragedy and the shock its finale has created awaken us to work on newer laws on corporate responsibility and accountability, it would be a gain, writes Kandaswami Subramanian.
An NGO working for the Bhopal gas tragedy victims has alleged that there are no accurate figures available on the death toll of the world's worst industrial disaster even after 30 years and has also raised concern over the toxic waste lying in defunct Union Carbide plant situated near the densely populated old Bhopal area.
Photographer Samar Jodha's latest installation gives you a 3D experience of the Bhopal gas tragedy
Nearly 900 tonnes of ash generated from the incineration of toxic waste linked to the Bhopal gas tragedy remains undispensed after the Madhya Pradesh High Court directed the state government to find an alternative disposal site.
Unconscious children being carried by parents in their arms, people laying on roads, health workers scrambling to attend to those affected by the styrene vapour leak and residents fleeing were some of the scenes that played out near Visakhapatnam on Thursday, bringing back grim memories of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.
What is needed is dharma or good faith among both companies and officials to limit harm. Regulators should also remember that costs forced on companies become higher costs for consumers, says Gurcharan Das
Dubbing as "paltry" the relief announced recently for Bhopal disaster victims, the opposition on Wednesday demanded a substantial increase in it and asked the government to become a party to a petition filed in a US court to extract compensation from American firm Dow Chemicals.
'All the political parties did nothing. These parties talk of helping the poor but no one actually did anything,' says social activist Abdul Jabber.
Victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy and their families held a rally outside the Union Carbide Factory to mark the 25th anniversary of the world's most deadly industrial disaster.
The incident comes a day after the town was rocked by protests against the disposal plan amid a bandh call given by the Pithampur Bachao Samiti.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has appreciated Indian Olympic Association's (IOA) concern for the victims of 1984 Bhopal Tragedy but maintained that Dow Chemicals had no ownership stakes in Union Carbide till 2000.
Talks are on with a German firm for disposal of toxic waste left at the Union Carbide plant in the aftermath of the 1984 disaster after Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra declined to allow its destruction in their territory, Home Minister P Chidambaram said on Tuesday.
Victims' organisations have strongly opposed the proposed demolition of the defunct Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, which killed thousands and maimed lakhs, following the leakage of the deadly Methyl-Iso-Cyanate gas on December 2-3, 1984. "It is an attempt to weaken the criminal case pending in the sessions court as the defunct plant is important evidence in the case against Union Carbide," Gas Peedit Sangharsh Sahyog Samiti Convenor Sadhna Karnik told PTI.
In the brief, the 11 lawmakers argued that the District Court was wrong in refusing to consider India's statement requesting cleanup of the Bhopal plant.
The money deposited by the Union Carbide, following the US multinational's settlement with the Union Government, was directed to be disbursed within three months by the apex Court earlier.
The Supreme Court on Thursday set a six-month deadline for removal and disposal of toxic waste of the the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal and asked the Centre and Madhya Pradesh government to do the job within the stipulated time frame.
Madhya Pradesh police have registered five cases against protesters in Pithampur who opposed the planned disposal of 337 tonnes of toxic waste linked to the Bhopal gas tragedy. Protests erupted on Friday after the waste reached Ramky Enviro company, where the incineration is to be carried out. Authorities imposed prohibitory orders, and police dispersed a mob that marched to the company premises. Two people attempted self-immolation during the protests, but were prevented by the crowd. Chief Minister Mohan Yadav said the state government only transported the waste with safety parameters in compliance with court orders.
A nation angered may spur the the Bhopal gas victims in their seemingly endless battle to get justce, writes Sheela Bhatt.
Lapierre welcomed the beginning of distribution of fresh compensation of Rs 1567 crore to the victims.
The premises of the defunct Union Carbide factory will be opened for the public from January, 25 years after the gas leak from it killed and maimed thousands of people, a senior minister said on Tuesday."The Union Carbide factory premises will be thrown open for the public in January. The date of opening has not been finalised yet. The state also has plans to build a Hiroshima-like memorial there depicting the detailed account of the disaster," said a minister.
Residents of Tarpura village near Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh, are protesting against the incineration of 337 tons of toxic waste from the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy at a local facility. They fear the process will be hazardous to health and the environment, despite government assurances. The protest comes after the Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered the transfer of the waste to Pithampur within four weeks. The incident has raised concerns about the potential contamination of soil, underground water, and water sources in the area. The administration has deployed a large police force and held meetings with local residents to address their concerns.
The survivors had demanded damages from the company and alleged that their water aquifiers were polluted due to the leak of hazardous chemicals from the UCC factory in Bhopal.
Senior Congress leader Arjun Singh, who is in the eye of a storm over the issue of safe passage given to the then Union Carbide Corporation chairman Warren Anderson in the wake of the Bhopal gas tragedy, has sought to lob the ball in the Centre's court and the party declined to join issue.
According to the sources in the government, in a major U-turn, the Union law ministry has submitted a note to the Group of Ministers headed by Home Minister P Chidambaram on the Bhopal gas tragedy, where it has, reportedly, recommended that the government of India should undertake the cleanup operation of the site of Union Carbide.
