The judgment is being seen as a setback to those seeking stringent punishment for the accused in the gas disaster.
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 judgment 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 Madhya Pradesh government have failed to come out with a satisfactory explanation on filing the curative petition after a lapse of 14 years. The CBI and the Madhya Pradesh government had 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.
Gas victims in Bhopal have expressed dismay over the Supreme Courts verdict. Non Government Organizations working among gas victims have termed the verdict as unfortunate. Sadhana Karnik of Bhopal Gas Peedit Sangharsh Samiti said in a statement that injustice was being done continuously with the Bhopal gas victims. On the other hand legal experts have said that it would be too early to comment on the Supreme Court’s verdict.