The Hindu Business Line : Bhopal tragedy: Court orders issue of notice to Dow Chemical

THE Chief Judicial Magistrate of Bhopal, Mr Anil Kumar Gupta, had ordered on January 6 that "a notice be issued through the appropriate legal procedure to Dow Chemical Corporation, Midland, Michigan, USA" to respond to an application filed by the Bhopal Group for Information and Action.

The application filed on February 26, 2004, urges the Court to issue a summons or warrant to Dow Chemical Company to produce its subsidiary Union Carbide Corporation to face criminal trial in India in connection with the 1984 Bhopal disaster. This move is the first step in Bhopal Group's attempts to enforce the appearance of Union Carbide.

If Dow produces Union Carbide to face trial in Bhopal, it could lead to a speedy resolution of the long-pending issues in Bhopal. If Dow, however, fails to do so, it runs the risk of being accused of sheltering a fugitive.

This could place Dow's Indian assets in jeopardy, harm future business plans in India, and affect its reputation in the world.

"In the shareholders' meetings in 2003 and 2004, Dow CEO misled shareholders by stating that Dow and Union Carbide face no liabilities — civil or criminal — in India. Clearly, the Indian courts don't think this matter is resolved yet," said Ms Rachna Dhingra, spokesperson for Bhopal Group for Information and Action.

In 1992, Union Carbide was declared an "absconder" — a fugitive from justice — after it repeatedly failed to honour summons issued by the Bhopal court. The company, which is charged with the crime of "culpable homicide" for its role in perpetrating the Bhopal disaster, was taken over as a 100 per cent subsidiary of The Dow Chemical in February 2001. The disaster has killed more than 20,000 people till date, and injured at least 5,00,000.

Bhopal survivors' organisations have urged the Government of India to take the Bhopal criminal case seriously.

"The criminal case has the potential to relieve the Government of onerous financial obligations to rehabilitate Bhopal. If Union Carbide is found guilty, it can be charged with a penalty whose ceiling is limited only by the company's assets, the magnitude of the crime and current status of the victims. The penalty amount can be used for survivors' rehabilitation," said Mr Himanshu Rajan Sharma, a New York-based lawyer representing the survivors in a separate class action suit against Union Carbide in the US.

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