MP govt to take Bhopal gas leak case to High Court

Bhopal, Jun 9: Sensing the people's anger over the Bhopal gas tragedy verdict, the Madhya Pradesh government has decided to intervene and take the case to the High Court.

The Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said that his government will move the High Court against the 'disappointing' verdict given by a local court in Bhopal on Monday, Jun 7.

Speaking to media personnel on Wednesday, Jun 9, the Chief Minister said, "The much-awaited verdict in the Bhopal gas tragedy case is disappointing. Victims can appeal for an increase in the quantum of punishment. Since people of Bhopal are victims in this case and they are represented by the state government, we have decided to file an appeal to get justice for the victims and to increase the sentence of the convicts."

He informed that until now the state government did not want to interfere in the matter as the case was being handled by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the union government.

Chauhan added that the government will be setting up a committee to study all legal aspects of the case before making an appeal in the High Court.

The local court's verdict in the 1984 Bhopal disaster failed to satisfy the victims as well as the people of the country as a light sentence of two years imprisonment was given to the eight convicts, among whom one is dead. Besides this, the seven convicts were given bail immediately for a surety of 25,000.

Adding to all this was the fact that the main accused, the then CEO of Union Carbide, Warren Anderson goes scot free in the case as he was declared an absconder 23 years ago.

OneIndia News