Nanda's conviction may re-open Bhopal gas case

If the Delhi court judgment fixing Sanjiv Nanda is upheld by the supreme court, it would have repercussions on many other cases, such as the Bhopal gas tragedy case.

It is likely that fresh litigation could be filed by the victims of tragedy caused by leakage of lethal gas from Union Carbide Corporation’s Bhopal plant 24 years ago.

The parallel between the UCC genocide and BMW drunken rash and negligent driving, killing six persons in 1999, is of some relevance. The Delhi judge says he has set an example by applying 304(11) of the IPC against rich and influential Nanda, the grandson of former Indian Naval chief S M Nanda. When the Bhopal chief judicial magistrate sought to prosecute UCC chairman Warren Anderson, he absconded soon after getting bail on a surety of paltry Rs 25,000.

Anderson didn’t challenge the CJM’s order, but nine others in the UCC case did and got major reprieve in the case of utter criminal and willful negligence that’s still leaving many dead due to the toxic effects of lethal MIC gas.

A SC bench headed by the then chief justice of India AM Ahmadi delivered a controversial judgment reducing the grave charge of section 304 (II) IPC into 304 A IPC, which stipulate death by negligence, but not culpable homicide.

Considering the thin line between intentional death and unintentional homicide, the SC says the court should decide the question of intention, as that will decide whether the case falls under Section 302 (murder) or 304 Part I or II. The court didn’t find the killings being caused by the gas leak 24 years ago grave enough to have hauled up the UCC chairman and senior officers prima facie accused in section 304(II) IPC.

But Delhi judge has found the rash and negligent driving by an intoxicated Nanda more serious an offence than what Anderson had done to several residents of Bhopal.

According to a parliamentary report, the evidence collected during the probe proves that the accused  had the knowledge that by the various acts of omission and commission in the prescription of the design and running of the MIC-based plant, death and injury could be caused to a large number of human beings and animals.

All the accused persons had joined in such acts of omission and commission with such common knowledge. This resulted in the incident in the first week of December 1984, which has killed over 3,800 people and about 3,000 animals. It’s an old report.