Bhopal Court To Hear 'Jurisdiction' Plea To Try Dow Chemicals In Gas Tragedy Case Today

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The District and Sessions Court in Bhopal is set to hear the jurisdiction issue of the trial against Dow Chemical Company in connection with the criminal case related to the Bhopal gas tragedy on Friday.

Victims of the gas tragedy are demanding that Dow Chemical be held accountable for the 1984 disaster, which killed thousands and caused severe environmental damage.

Dow Chemical, headquartered in Michigan, USA, acquired Union Carbide Corporation, whose Bhopal facility was the site of the gas leak on the night of December 2-3, 1984, resulting in the tragedy.

The American multinational corporation has been arguing that the case does not fall under the jurisdiction of the Bhopal court, which had served a show cause notice to it based on the pleas of the petitioners. However, the gas victims assert that the Madhya Pradesh High Court resolved the jurisdiction issue in 2012, and Dow Chemical should be made an accused in the case.

In October 2023, for the first time in 17 years, Dow Chemical appeared before Bhopal’s trial court, following efforts by the Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA).