The hearing of the Bhopal gas tragedy case could not be completed on Friday. Due to dense fog in Delhi, the flight of CBI officers got delayed, due to which they could reach the court at 12:30 pm. The lawyers appearing on behalf of Dow Chemical refused to wait after this. Dow’s lawyers said that they had to return to Delhi by 2 pm flight, hence they could not attend the hearing after 12:30 pm. Taking cognizance of the situation, the court gave Dow’s lawyers the last opportunity on 26 February to end the debate on the issue of jurisdiction. Now in the next hearing, Dow’s lawyers will have to complete their arguments on jurisdiction, after which the court will decide the further process in this historical case.
Thousands of people died in Bhopal gas tragedy
Events that have happened so far in Bhopal gas tragedy
2–3 December 1984
Methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Bhopal factory of Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL). Thousands of people died and lakhs of people were affected.
year 1984–85
The Government of India declared the disaster a national tragedy. Legal action was initiated against Union Carbide Corporation (UCC).
year 1989
An agreement of $ 470 million (about Rs 715 crore) was signed between the Government of India and Union Carbide. The Supreme Court has approved the agreement.
year 1991
The Supreme Court has reinstated the criminal cases. The then chairman Warren Anderson was declared a fugitive.
year 2001
Union Carbide was merged into Dow Chemical. The victim organizations also demanded Dow to be held responsible.
year 2010
The lower court of Bhopal convicted eight accused. There were protests across the country against the decision of two years’ imprisonment and fine.
years 2012–2014
Petitions were filed in the Supreme Court demanding increase in compensation and rehabilitation.
Current situation from 2015 till now
After 2015, gas victims intensified their demand for fixing criminal and civil liability against Dow. Talking about the current situation, hearing is going on in the court regarding the jurisdiction of Dow. The court has given final permission to Dow’s lawyers to complete the arguments by 26 February.