Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): In the third de novo hearing of criminal appeals filed in connection with Bhopal gas tragedy, an application was moved in the court of Bhopal District Judge Giribala Singh on Friday. The application moved by former employees of Union Carbide Company (UCC) Satya Prakash Choudhary, J Mukund and Kishore Kamdar appealed to the District Judge to withdraw herself from hearing their appeals and transfer it to some other judge. The appellants are among seven convicts in cases pertaining to Bhopal gas disaster.
They said Giri Bala Singh was deputy commissioner of gas relief welfare for four years starting from 1997 and therefore they cannot expect justice from her.
Advocate Ajay Gupta said, “We have moved application in her court, requesting her to withdraw herself on this ground and transfer the appeal cases to other court. November 30 is next date of hearing to dispose of our application,” he added.
In 2010, the then Chief Judicial Magistrate Mohan Tiwari had sentenced the then non-executive Union Carbide India Ltd chairman Keshub Mahindra, managing director Vijay Gokhale, vice-president Kishore Kamdar, works manager J Mukund, production manager SP Choudhary, plant superintendent KV Shetty and production assistant SI Qureshi in the case relating to the leakage of methyl isocyanate gas from Bhopal factory on the night of December 2-3, 1984. All were given two years of jail.
They had appealed against the judgment of trial court before District Judge who had granted them bail.
