In an apparent setback to the campaign for those seeking stringent punishment for the accused in the Bhopal gas disaster, the Supreme Court today dismissed CBI's curative petition against an earlier apex court judgement that diluted charges against the accused.

A five-judge constitutional bench, headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia, however, left a window of opportunity open saying the pending proceedings before the Sessions court against the Chief Judicial Magistrate's judgement awarding two years sentence to the accused, including Union Carbide India Chairman Keshub Mahindra will not be influenced by any order passed by it.

The bench said that the CBI and the MP government have failed to come out with a satisfactory explanation on filing the curative petition after a lapse of 14 years.

The unanimous order was passed by the bench that included justices Altamas Kabir, R V Raveendran, B Sudershan Reddy and Aftab Alam.

The CBI and the Madhya Pradesh government filed the curative petitions after a public outcry over what was considered as a mild punishment for a tragedy that claimed over 15,000 lives in December 1984 and had left several thousands maimed by the leakage of deadly Methyl Isocyanate gas.

In 1996, a two-judge bench of the apex court, headed by the then Chief Justice A H Ahmadi had diluted the charges against the accused from Section 304 Part II of the IPC providing for a maximum of ten years imprisonment to Section 304(A) that deals with rash and negligence act with a maximum punishment of two years.

The CBI and the MP government have filed revision petitions in the Sessions court against the judgement of the CJM, Bhopal, which had awarded two years jail term to various accused in the Bhopal gas tragedy case.

The CBI had sought recall of the apex court's 14-year-old judgement that had diluted the charges against the accused, who were prosecuted just for the offence of being negligent.

In its plea, the CBI had sought restoration of stringent charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder instead of death caused due to negligence against the accused in the world's worst industrial disaster.

Madhya Pradesh government had also moved the apex court, endorsing the CBI plea for review of the September 1996 judgement by which the accused persons were tried for the offence of criminal negligence which resulted in a lighter punishment of two years' jail term to Mahindra and six others on June 7, 2010.

The others who escaped with lighter punishment included UCIL erstwhile Managing Director Vijay Gokhale, its Vice President Kishore Kamdar, Works Manager J N Mukund, Production Manager S P Choudhary, Plant Superintendent K V Shetty and Production Assistant S I Quereshi.

The apex court had on August 31 last decided to re-examine its own judgement that led to lighter punishment of two years imprisonment for all the seven convicts.

The verdict had sparked a nationwide outrage following which the government set up a group of ministers and filed a curative petition against the lighter punishment for those responsible for the gas tragedy.

Bhopal gas case: Government to abide by SC decision

The Government today said it will "abide" by the decision of the Supreme Court which dismissed CBI's curative petition against an earlier apex court judgement that diluted charges against the accused in the Bhopal gas disaster case.

"We will go by the decision of the Supreme Court. After this matter came up, the GoM in its due wisdom decided to go for the curative petition. After obtaining the opinion from the learned Attorney General of India, we had filed the curative petition and the Supreme Court in its wisdom has dismissed it. We will abide by the decision," Law Minister Veerappa Moily told reporters.

Asked about the compensation component as well as punishment to the accused, the Minister said he has to go through the judgement and pointed out that there are other petitions also which are yet to be disposed.

He, however, made it clear that the compensation component was not linked with the curative petition and was a separate issue.

He said compensation issue was still open. "We have given more compensation. We have released more money from Government of India, we came to their rescue," he said.

The CBI and the Madhya Pradesh government filed the curative petitions after a public outcry over what was considered as a mild punishment for a tragedy that claimed over 15,000 lives in December 1984 and had left several thousands maimed by the leakage of deadly Methyl Isocyanate gas.

May 11 another black day, say anguished Bhopal activists

Social activists fighting for enhanced punishment to the accused in the Bhopal gas disaster today expressed dismay over the Supreme Court's order dismissing the CBI's curative petition and called it "another black day".

"Supreme Court today has heaped yet more injustice on victims who have already suffered it earlier -- in 1989 on settlement (for compensation) and in 1996 after dilution of penal charges against the accused. May 11 is another black day in the history of Bhopal," social activist Satinath Sarangi told reporters soon after the apex court delivered its verdict.

Sarangi alleged that the state organs, including judiciary, were not keen on justice to Bhopal gas victims.

"Why should people suffer because the CBI has not done its job well? The government machinery is not inclined to give justice to victims and this includes judiciary. It (court) could have seen that 1996 judgement equated the corporate massacre with a meagre traffic accident."

"The message you are sending out to world is that you can come here, kill us and go back," he added.

A five-judge constitutional bench, headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia today dismissed a curative petition filed by the CBI, seeking recall of the apex court's September 1996 order which had diluted the stringent charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder against the Bhopal gas leakage tragedy accused and had ordered their trial for milder offence of causing death by rash and negligent acts.

While the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder entails up to ten years of jail term, the offence of causing death by a rash and negligent act fetches a maximum of two years' jail term on conviction.

The leakage of the deadly Methyl Isocyanate gas from an Union Carbide plant at Bhopal on December 2-3 night in 1984 has left over 15,000 dead and tens of thousands others maimed for life.

Additional Solicitor General Indira Jai Singh, however, saw a silver lining in the apex court's verdict and said, "The judgement very categorically says that Sessions Court in revision case pending, can go ahead and frame charges under section 304-II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder or the unintentional killing) on the basis of the new evidence that has surfaced now. In that sense, it is positive."

"The court has opened a door for prosecution of accused under charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder (304-II of IPC).... It is now up to the sessions court to decide and frame charges," she said.

She said that "two years punishment (awarded by trial court earlier) is not enough".

Bhopal gas activist Sarangi, however, expressed dismay and anguish that the 1996 judgement was not set aside.

He said, "Last year when trial court heaped this injustice, the whole country had voiced its outrage. Now the Supreme Court has put its stamp of approval on it. This is disgusting. I am disappointed. We have no other way than to go back to the people and for the victims to speak and express their outrage again."

Saranagi pointed out that "the court could have seen that the concept of curative petition came in 2002 only and more evidence from the US federal court surfaced only six months beck. New evidence makes things clearer."

Activist Madhumita Das also lamented that "people have to suffer for mistakes committed by the governments".

"I am shocked. After so many years there was hope for Bhopal victims. For the mistakes of the government and the CBI, the victims have to suffer again," she rued.

The Supreme Court could have taken a more pragmatic view. It is the second time that Supreme Court has failed them (victims)," she said.

Another activist Rachna Dhingra said, "At the end of the day, the victims have to pay for CBI's unwillingness and incompetence. As the next step we will seek to have day-to-day hearing of the case in the Sessions Court and seek trial on graver charges in light of the new evidence."

Bhopal gas: SC allows court to consider stringent charges

The Supreme Court today refused to alter its 1996 judgement diluting charges in the Bhopal gas disaster case but left it open to the Sessions Court there to consider restoring stringent charges against the accused, who had got punishment under lighter provisions.

Holding that the 1996 judgement that diluted charges against the accused was "not binding", the apex court dismissed a curative petition filed by the CBI saying it was based on a "wrong and fallacious plea" and filed after a lapse of 14 years.

"In our view, on the basis of the material on record, it is wrong to assume that the 1996 judgement is a fetter against proper exercise of powers by a court of competent jurisdiction under the relevant provisions of the Code", a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice S H Kapadia said.

The court said the 1996 verdict was not "binding" on the trial court which failed to appreciate the correct legal provision for trying the accused under the stringent provision in the tragedy that killed over 15,000 people and left maimed several thousands due to the leakage of deadly methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas in December, 1984.

In its nine-page judgement, which has come under attack from campaigners for sterner punishment to the accused, the bench said curative petitions of CBI and Madhya Pradesh Government were not only based on the "wrong and fallacious" plea but were filed after a lapse of 14 years without satisfactory explanation.

"No satisfactory explanation is given to file such curative petitions after about 14 years from 1996 judgement of the Supreme Court," the bench, also comprising justices Altamas Kabir, R V Raveendran, B Sudershan Reddy and Aftab Alam said.

The June 7 verdict of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bhopal, awarding two years' imprisonment to the accused including the then Chairman of the Union Carbide India Keshub Mahindra had sparked a nationwide outrage following which the government decided to file a curative petition against the lighter punishment for those responsible for the gas tragedy.

The apex court today said both CBI and the Madhya Pradesh government had adopted a correct legal premise in approaching the Sessions Court with the criminal revision petition for restoration of stringent charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under section 304 (part II) of the IPC which attracts maximum punishment of 10 years jail term.

The bench noted that the 1996 judgement diluting the charges to section 304 A for negligence was based on the evidence presented before it at that relevant time and it was wrong to assume that it was binding on the trial court when additional facts and material were forthcoming.
Besides Mahindra, the others who got lighter punishment included UCIL erstwhile Managing Director Vijay Gokhale, its Vice President Kishore Kamdar, Works Manager J N Mukund, Production Manager S P Choudhary, Plant Superintendent K V Shetty and Production Assistant S I Quereshi.

The bench held that the assumption of CBI was "wrong" and "without any basis" that as long as the 1996 judgement stands "the Sessions court would feel helpless in framing any higher charges against the accused" and did not have power to prosecute the accused for an offence higher than the one under Section 304A of IPC.

"It stems from a complete misapprehension in regard to the binding nature of the 1996 judgement. No decision by any court, this Court not excluded, can be read in a manner as to nullify the express provisions of an Act or the Code and the 1996 judgement never intended to do so.

The apex court said "In the 1996 judgement, this Court was at pains to make it absolutely clear that its findings were based on materials gathered in investigation and brought before the Court till that stage."

The court made it clear that if the Magistrate's Court failed to appreciate the correct legal provision for trying the accused under the stringent provision, it can be corrected by the Sessions court before which the revision petitions have been filed by the CBI and Madhya Pradesh Government.

"If according to the curative petitioner, the learned Magistrate failed to appreciate the correct legal position and misread the decision of September 13,1996 as tying his hands from exercising the power under Section 323 or under Section 216 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, it can certainly be corrected by the appellate/revisional court," the bench said.

"It is clear to us that in the criminal revisions filed by the CBI and the State of Madhya Pradesh the legal position is correctly stated. But the curative petitions are based on a plea that is wrong and fallacious," it said.

"In fact, the revision petitions though belatedly filed by Madhya Pradesh and the CBI which are still pending) have asserted this position in the grounds of revision," the bench noted.

While dismissing the curative petitions, the bench said "Nothing stated above shall be construed as expression of any view or opinion on the merits of the matters pending before the Sessions Judge, Bhopal."

In 1996, a two-judge bench of the apex court, headed by the then Chief Justice A H Ahmadi had diluted the charges against the accused from Section 304 Part II of the IPC providing for a maximum of ten years imprisonment to Section 304(A) that deals with rash and negligence act with a maximum punishment of two years.

The trial court in Bhopal on June 7, 2010 had convicted and awarded two years imprisonment to the accused.

The apex court had on August 31 last decided to re-examine its own judgement that led to lighter punishment of two years imprisonment for all the seven convicts.