The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected the petition filed by one Hasina Bi and 14 other survivors for compensation and removing hazardous material from Union Carbide's unit in Madhya Pradesh.
NEW YORK: In a major setback to the survivors of the Bhopal gas tragedy, a US appellate court has rejected their plea against Union Carbide Corporation for compensation and removal of hazardous waste from its chemical plant.
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected the petition filed by one Hasina Bi and 14 other survivors for compensation and removing hazardous material from Union Carbide's unit in Madhya Pradesh.
The chemical plant was shut down after deadly Methyl Isocynate gas leaked from it on December 3, 1984 killing 2,660 people and seriously affecting the health of two lakh.
"Bi's claim for public nuisance fails because Bi has not alleged any special injury or damages beyond that of the general inconvenience to the public at large," the circuit judges said, while rejecting their petition.
"In any event, Bi resides illegally on government-owned ground. She, therefore, cannot sustain claims for trespass or private nuisance under the New York law," the judges said.
In the petition, Bi challenged an order by Justice John F Keenan of New York's South District Court in October last year that rejected her suit for damages against Dow Chemicals, the present owner of Union Carbide after a six-year legal battle.
The survivors had demanded damages from the company and alleged that their water aquifers were polluted due to the leak of hazardous chemicals from the UCC factory in Bhopal.
"The complaint does not allege that Bi is an owner or legal tenant on any property contaminated by leakage from the chemical plant site, nor did Bi contest the judge's finding that she is not a property owner despite an opportunity to do so before the judge and district court," the judgement, delivered on August 10, said.
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