The UCC has sought clarification of an order passed by the court in April 2011 whereby five victims’ groups were allowed to intervene in the matter.
New Delhi: Asserting that no private individual can lay a claim against it for damages, the Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) has moved the Supreme Court against letting the victims’ organisations intervene in the curative petition that was filed by the central government to seek additional compensation for the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.
The UCC has sought clarification of an order passed by the court in April 2011 whereby five victims’ groups were allowed to intervene in the matter. The Corporation, which entered into a settlement with the Union of India in 1989 regarding the damages, has claimed no distinct right was available with the victims’ organisations and NGOs leading the battles on behalf of those affected by the gas leak.
The Centre had in December 2010 filed the curative petition in the apex court seeking an order to the UCC for enhancing the settlement amount and reimbursement of relief and rehabilitation expenses incurred by the state and central governments. The petition was last heard four years ago and is pending final hearing. Now, the application filed by the UCC in the SC earlier this week has contended that in 1985 a scheme was framed under the Bhopal Act under which all individual claims were to be resolved through quasi-judicial proceedings.
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