41st Anniversary Of Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Victims Still Await Justice 15 Years After Convictions

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy victims still await full justice, 15 years after convictions in the case during the tenure of nine district judges. Many are of the opinion that the accused got off with light punishment for a major disaster.

Appeal for enhancement of the two-year jail punishment is pending in the court of the principal district judge in the District and Sessions Court, Bhopal.

In June 2010, a Bhopal chief judicial magistrate (CJM) court convicted seven former executives of Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) in the Bhopal gas tragedy case. The seven Indian nationals, all former employees of UCIL, were sentenced to two years in prison and a fine for causing death by negligence under Section 304-A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

All of them went into appeal and got out on bail. The appeal of the state authorities for enhancement in the quantum of punishment has been pending since then.

The conviction came over 25 years after the disaster, with the verdict being seen by some as a minor punishment for a major tragedy.

Those convicted included Keshub Mahindra, former non-executive chairman of UCIL, Vijay Gokhale, former MD, Kishore Kamdar, ex-vice president, J Mukund, former work manager, SP Chaudhary, former production manager, KV Shetty, former plant superintendent and SI Qureshi, former production assistant.

Rachna Dhingra of the Bhopal Group for Information and Action, said, The recent outcomes of the criminal proceedings against the Indian accused and against Union Carbide s owner Dow Chemical highlight the reality of corporate clout trouncing judicial remedies against corporate crime. If the Indian government is serious about securing justice for the Bhopal disaster it needs to summon the political will necessary to defeat corporate strategies of digression and delay.