New Delhi: More than three decades after US-based Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) was booked in the 1984 methyl isocyanate (MIC) leak case, representatives of The Dow Chemical Company (TDCC) — which acquired Union Carbide in 2001 — may appear in an Indian court to answer for the leak that claimed more than 5,000 lives and maimed tens of thousands of others in and around the city of Bhopal.
“It is very likely that tomorrow, for the first time in 36 years, a foreign accused will appear in court to respond to criminal charges for the Bhopal gas disaster,” Rashida Bi of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh said at a press conference Monday.
Speaking to ThePrint later in the day, Rashida Bi hailed this likely development as a “huge moment towards ensuring justice for survivors” of the tragedy, which is considered among the world’s worst industrial disasters to date.
On Monday, four outfits including the one of which Rashida Bi is a member came together under the banner ‘International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal’ to celebrate what they believe could turn out to be recognition for their prolonged fight for justice. “Justice for Bhopal will ensure justice everywhere,” Rashida Bi told ThePrint.
As ThePrint reported earlier, 12 members of the US Congress in September this year wrote to the US Department of Justice to direct The Dow Chemical Company to respond to a summons issued to it by the Bhopal district court in connection with the 1984 gas leak. This was the seventh summons issued by the court to the US-based chemicals company, which formally completed its merger with Union Carbide in 2001.
Though neither the Department of Justice nor the CBI issued a statement confirming that the summons was served to Dow, activist Rachna Dhingra told ThePrint Monday, “The CBI mentioned to us that a summons had been served by US Department of Justice (to Dow).”
The Dow Chemicals Company has maintained that it “should not have been party to any legal proceeding concerning Bhopal” since it “never owned or operated the plant” and that the “Union Carbide Corporation (which itself was a separate company from UCIL) did not become a subsidiary of TDCC until more than 16 years after the tragedy”.
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39-year quest for justice
On the intervening night of 2-3 December, 1984, poisonous gas leaked from a pesticide factory owned and operated by Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL) in Madhya Pradesh’s Bhopal, instantly killing an estimated 3,800 people and maiming tens of thousands of others.
Police filed an FIR against the then chairman and CEO of Union Carbide, Warren Anderson, who was released on bail and had left India by 4 December. Two days later, the case was transferred to the CBI, which filed a chargesheet against Anderson, UCIL chairman Keshub Mahindra and seven others on charges including culpable homicide in 1987.
In 1989, UCC agreed to pay $470 million as compensation to those affected by the tragedy.
And by 1992, Anderson was declared a ‘fugitive’ for ignoring court summonses. An extradition request to US authorities was pending at the time of his death in 2014.
Responding to a curative petition filed by the central government in the Supreme Court of India challenging the 1989 settlement, Dow — which had by 1999 initiated its bid to acquire Union Carbide — had said in 2010 that because it “does not conduct business directly in India, the court lacks jurisdiction over it in the Curative Petition matter”.
‘Ray of hope’ for Bhopal gas leak survivors
The case against The Dow Chemicals Company before the Bhopal district court stems from an application filed by the Bhopal Group for Information & Action in February 2004, which sought to assist the prosecution in the criminal case corresponding to the tragedy.
On Monday, organisers of the ‘International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal’ claimed that officers of the CBI conveyed to them that the US Department of Justice had served the seventh summons issued to Dow by the Bhopal district court, and that this could mean that legal representatives of Dow may appear before the court on 3 October.
“The CBI acknowledges that as the ‘successor in interest’ of Union Carbide, Dow Chemical is liable for the pending charges against Union Carbide in the Bhopal district court,” said Nawab Khan of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha.
Further, organisers alleged in a press conference Monday that Dow was also accountable under Section 107 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for ‘abetment’ since it “facilitated the sale of Union Carbide’s assets in India, despite the 1992 chief judicial magistrate’s order directing authorities attach Union Carbide’s existing properties in India”.
“In a way, it is better that the authorised representative of Dow Chemical and not Union Carbide will be appearing tomorrow. Carbide has sold its assets in India but Dow Chemical holds substantial assets in this country. The CBI must know that the whole world will be watching,” said Nousheen Khan of the Children against Dow Carbide.
Rashida Bi too called upon the CBI to ensure swift justice for those affected. “This is a small ray of hope. At least we now know that they are addressing the summons. Our fight will continue,” she said.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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