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What a fall!

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What a fall!

By Raajkumar Keswani

He is an “Angel’ who fell in Bhopal 25 years back, without any realisation about his fall. He hounded all those who talked about his fall, till the realisation dawned upon him 25 years later.

One of our leading jurists, Fali S.Nariman, regrets his decision of accepting the Union Carbide brief in Bhopal gas disaster case of 1984. He sounds candid enough to acknowledge that he had no ‘foreknowledge’ of everything of the case while accepting the civil liability case. He said in a recent interview to Karan Thapar on CNN-IBN; “I’m a fallen angel in Bhopal episode.’

How this statement suddenly brings back a few disturbing images of the past, when the angel in question was playing the devil’s drummer in the Bhopal district court.

It was May 6, 1987. District judge M.W.Deo, was in the chair, hearing the 3 billion dollar civil suit filed by the Government of India against Union Carbide. It was a business, like any other day till the group of Union Carbide Corporation lawyers made an unexpected move.  The Lead counsel for Union Carbide Corporation, USA, Fali S. Nariman dropped a bomb by moving an application before the judge.

It asked the judge ‘…to rescue himself from further participation in the case and disassociate himself from the case’.  He said ‘that pending disposal of their application, …no further directions be given nor proceedings taken before his hounor judge Deo.’

The judge, aghast with an expression of hurt on his face, however, informed the defence lawyer Fali S.Nariman, in a firm tone that it was for the first time that he was hearing about such an application. He said ‘…if a party thinks the judge is biased it should approach the higher court for transfer of the case to some other court.’

Sticking to his guns Nariman launched another blunt attack on the judge. ‘We want to give you first opportunity of disassociating yourself from the case.’

The judge, however did not allow himself to get bullied by this arrogant carbide move. He went ahead with the case after advising the defence lawyer to move the higher court.

This is what this ‘Fallen Angel’ did in those years of Carbide case. A case, he had no foreknowledge of all facts while accepting the brief. Once he had the full knowledge, he adopted an aggressive posture to defend his client, who refused to pay the proper compensation to the victims of Bhopal but never did refuse to compensate its lawyers ‘properly.’

I do remember Fali Nariman landing in Bhopal as Carbide’s lead senior advocate and appearing in the district court with his equally expensive lawyer colleagues with a sense of pride on their faces. I, as a reporter covering the Bhopal gas case, have been a witness to the impact of the presence of these imminent lawyers from legal skies.

Everyone in the court campus was quite attentive and focused towards the court room of the District Judge. Everyone, amazingly, was trying to behave out of his or her character to match the manners of the visiting legal eagles from metros. They were the faces hitherto heard and seen on the front pages of the newspapers.

Visitors too were all aware about the value and impact of their presence on the scene. They did not disappoint their watchers either. They did talk from their high pedestal even while defending the red handed Carbide.

They, Fali S.Nariman, along with Bomi Zaiwala , Anil Deewan and half a dozen other lawyers, without any doubt were well prepared, equipped and charged vis-à-vis the victim’s side represented by the Government of India. Initially, there was some glare on this side too with Attorney-General K.Parasaran participating in the case. However, his presence would not deflect the Carbide lawyers from displaying their contempt during the hearing of the case.

Journalists covering the case still reminisce about the attitude of these high profile lawyers in general and Fali in particular. The lawyer, with a great background of being a human rights activist, who quit Additional Solicitor General’s job to protest the imposition of the Emergency in June 1975, was on the wrong side of the issue this time.

‘Champion of the Human Rights’ till the other day, unfortunately, chose to side with the perpetrators of the genocide in Bhopal.

Judge Deo remained the main target for Carbide lobby and Fali was the firing machine for the purpose. The reason of the ire was Judge Deo’s passing an order for an interim relief package of Rs. 350 crores for the victims. The judge was impressed the plea of the victim’s organizations that there was an urgent need to help the survivors of the disaster.

UCC did create a situation of  a legal chaos in the case. Their delaying tactics at every level forced the Madhya Pradesh High Court to intervene. The court asked in a suo moto order in November 1987 why it should not try the case in place of the Bhopal district court ‘to avoid any delaying tactics’ of the UCC.

But that was not to be. Since master of the game was playing the captain of the Carbide   lawyers team. The captain, Fali Nariman, regrets it today. But as my friend Bharat Desai asks: ‘Fali, after 25 years, what’s the Nariman Point?

And to close, I would borrow from Fali Narimans recently published autobiography ‘Before Memory Fades’. In a chapter dealing with Bhopal episode he talks of the criticism and controversies he had to face in the wake of accepting the Carbide case. He quotes Oliver Cromwell to speak for him at the beginning of the chapter, who had commissioned his portrait by a leading artist of his times:

“Mr Lely, I desire you would use all your skill to paint my picture truly like me, and not flatter me at all; but remark all these roughness, pimples, warts and everything as you see me, otherwise I will never pay a farthing for it.”

I hope, he would pay me for painting him the way he desired. However, let me be candid about my fees: ‘Fali Baba, I won’t accept any fees with red finger prints of Union Carbide. Yes, there is a way to compensate me and rest of the Bhopal gas victims. Give up on the past and stand up for us. It will give you some solace too.’

rkeswani100@gmail.com

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  1. Ajmal Kamal says:

    Bravo Raajkumar!

    But one feels sad and outraged to see how great local minds allow themselves to be hired by the devil and how easily they can disregard justice in the name of professionalism.

  2. तिलक राज कपूर says:

    In a judicial system where where questioning “Action or Inaction” can be treated as contemp of courts; one shouldn’t hum “Mind Without Fear” from Geetanjali.
    There are honest Judges, honest Lawyers, and honest people in our Judicial System, but net outcome is no different from that of a corrupt Judicial System. If nobody trusts me, I can give documented example.

  3. तिलक राज कपूर says:

    In a judicial system where questioning “Action or Inaction” can be treated as contempt of courts; one shouldn’t hum “Mind Without Fear” from Geetanjali.
    There are honest Judges, honest Lawyers, and honest people in our Judicial System, but net outcome is no different from that of a corrupt one. If nobody trusts me, I can give documented example.

  4. Satya Sivaraman says:

    Very well put. Thanks for exposing the follies of Mr Fali who is nary a man of honour!

  5. Exposing new chapter on Bhopal tragedy.

  6. shaffkat alam says:

    After reading your post I am feeling depressed,surrounded by long forgotten images of crying and dying people .Most saddening is the helplessness of sufferers. A judge is bounded by laws which have so many loopholes , most of the times helping culprits .My anger is towards safedposhs like Fali ji.These demons always dance on devils tune and call themselves fallen angels.Who subah kya kabhi na ayegi jiska hame intezar hai yani real justice ki roshni.
    shaffkat

  7. r. khan says:

    THANKS FOR REVEALING THE INTERNAL DETAILS OF THE BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY IN WHICH MANY OF MY RELATIVES TOO HAD BEEN TRAPPED & SUFFERRED A LOT. I WONDER,HOW COULD MR. FALI BEING A PARSI, COULD DO THAT GREAT DISASTEROUS STEP……….FOR THE PARSIS ARE KNOWN FOR THEIR WISDOM AND FAR-SIGHTEDNESS……HIS FOLLY CANNOT BE EXCUSED IN ANY WAY!

  8. krishna says:

    A well written piece. But, one may remember- A Good lawyer is one who knows the Law, a big lawyer is one who knows the judge. And only a big lawyer becomes a Judge, in High Court and Supreme Court.
    So, dont grieve Sir .Also, an American Dollar is 45 times more valuable than the INR, and so is an American as compared to an Indian. So, the value of the life of an Indian is one-fortyfifth of an American. Which means, 45 Indians can be bought for one American. We are so cheap. And, look people are demanding equivalent compensation as will be paid for americans!!!
    Not right. Its simple maths.

  9. krishnagopmandla says:

    aap samvednaon ke sath khade hain “sadhuvad !” & hearty THANKS for recognising as an address to reach and comunicate. :aapka Krishnagop

  10. Thanks Ajmal,

    What really hurts the most is the holier-than-thou attitude of such people. They bring out an argument to support their sins and want everyone to believe in it.

    rk

  11. Kapoor sahab, you have said it without saying so much. Never miss an opportunity to highlight the truth. It works slowly but surely, since its not a matter of justice to be decided by some blind system.

    rk

  12. Ratneshji, Let me add; and many more still to come.

    rk

  13. Shaffakat Sahab, Zaroor Aayegi.

    rk

  14. Mr. R.Khan, Very true. I too love Parsi community and respect them for their righteousness but individual decisions cannot be associated with a community. You must remember that the Carbide brief came Fali only when another Parsi Soli Sorabjee refused it.

    rk

  15. Rajkumar bhai

    Since last 30 years you are giving exclusive information regarding Union Carbide and exposing each and every thing contacted with gas leakage . Fall of fali is also a part of high drama running in our country but you are exposing them is important.

    with warm regards,

    Brijmohan Shrivastav
    statte president,MPNCP

  16. You are rightKrishna. But the problem is that the maths is not so simple for everyone to understand.

    rk

  17. Thanks Krishnagop.

    rk

  18. Brijbhai, thanks. I am just trying to do my job.

    rk

  19. gopal shroti says:

    These villains will never have their due. Fali becomes audacious and writes his biography…Should society recognise it, damn it? ”KAUA CHALA HANS KI CHAAL”…
    There may be more and need brought to the book…”kahan chhipe ho babu, kahan chhipe ho lala”.
    A journalist voice is heard more than a common man. I hope your incessant efforts shd bring the faces of the culprits to public…but i still doubt our judiciary….26000 dead and 26 years of fallen judgement…Rajji it is very hard coconut..dry from inside??

  20. Sir ji
    You have really painted him the way he ‘desired’. He wouldnt ‘pay’ you because ‘aap us mitti se bane hi nahin hain jise koi pay kar sake.’

  21. Manoj Kulkarni says:

    Fall of Mr Fally has rightly been exposed here.There are still many hidden faces & we hope you would bring them out….

  22. How funny it is that Mr. Fali s Nariman is repenting now for taking up the case of Union Carbide. But what about those who were killed and their survivors were paid inadequately. It is shameful for all those who some how the other favoured the killers.Is there no law to charge and punish those who helped and provided safe passage for Mr Anderson to escape.They must be termed as anti nationals.
    Apart from all blunders and wishful act, there is no mention of ‘money power’ withought which no one should have sold his soul and conscience.A judicial enquiry must be constituted to prove their characters.
    Thanks.

  23. Perhaps for this reason everyone needs to have some kind of ideology (in every sense). A robust sense of what is right and what is wrong can only help guide one to pursue a particular path and after traversing the path there would then be no regret. In case of Bhopal particularly, there should have been no doubt as to what is right. Therefore, it is pity to see a man who might lack ideology but surely has profound knowledge of the Law to repent(?). After Rajkumar’s article, I may not be able to take the man as seriously as I did in the past. And I will not, believe me, repent this.

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  1. Nariman, pay your dues to Bhopal before memory fades | Arif's Blog - [...] to help an American transnational. Journalists i have been speaking to in Bhopal, including ace anti-Carbide campaigner Raajkumar Keswani…

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