Bhopal, Aug 19. Posted at 08.26 AM  IST :  The inquiry commission set up by the Madhya Pradesh government to investigate the causes and consequences of the Bhopal Gas disaster of 1984, has invited information from the people. The commission has been set up in the wake of the court verdict in the issue last year in June.

The CJM court had convicted the then Union Carbide india Ltd. (UCIL) chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others for causing death by negligence. Each one was awarded a sentence of two years imprisonment. The verdict had come twenty-six years after the world’s worst industrial disaster that killed an estimated 25,000 people in Bhopal.

The unhappy and agitated people over the ‘unjust’ verdict in the case created a worldwide agitation forcing the state and the union government to reconsider its insensitive attitude and do something to save the situation. Hence, the union government of India decided to a) offer a little more compensation to the victims and b) apply before the Supreme Court for the reopening of the case against the killer Union Carbide company. However, the half-hearted attempt of the government of India fell flat in the apex court, which preferred the case to be heard in the Bhopal district court once again.

The state government, on its part, did constitute an inquiry commission to investigate a fresh the entire issue of the disaster. The commission headed by Justice S.L. Kochar  is expected to probe the causes of the tragedy and the role of the then state government and other people vis-a-vis the accused.

The commission would also investigate whether the Carbide plant was issued license as per the rules and whether it had adequate safety arrangements in place to avoid any possible accidents.

The issue of the safe disposal of the chemical waste from the plant was taken care off or not, too is covered under its ambit.

It also is suppose to probe the controversial release of Union Carbide Corporation Chairman Warren Anderson’s arrest and mysterious release within hours in Bhopal on December 7, 1984.

It may be recalled that the first commission constituted to investigate the similar issue, Justice N.K.Singh Commission, was abandoned halfway in 1985. No justified reason was offered by the state government at that time.

RTI activist shot dead, police still clueless

Bhopal. August 17, 2011. 06.11 AM  IST : In a shocking incident in Bhopal on Tuesday morning an RTI activist and a great supporter of Anna Hazare movement, Ms. Shehla Masood was shot dead and the police is still groping in the dark.

Shehla Masood, had emerged in the past few years as a strong campaigner against corruption in Madhya Pradesh. She had become an eyesore for the corrupt politician and bureaucrats in Bhopal. Currently, a senior officer of the M.P.Police, illegal mining and malpractice in the state’s wildlife conservation were at her target. She has been raising serious questions regarding several tiger deaths in the state.

The 35 year old Model turned activist Shehla did not make a family and devoted herself to the social causes. At around Tuesday morning, before leaving for the protest venue at Boat Club organized in support of Anna Hazare, she updated her facebook account with this message ‘ Gandhi “the purpose of civil resistance is provocation”. Anna has succeeded in provoking the Govt and the Opposition. Hope he wins us freedom from corruption. Meet at 2 pm Boat Club Bhopal.’

Soon after she came out to proceed for the protest venue from her house at Koh-e-Fiza locality.  She took the driver’s seat at her Santro car but could never start. She was shot at by hitherto unknown killer at point blank range.

Forensic experts, curiously, have given a new twist to the murder by talking of a possible suicide case. Dr. D.S. Badkul , Director Medico-Legal Institute at Bhopal after post mortem of the body has raised the issue. ‘Her car was shut from all sides and she was shot from the front’ he says.

According to a PTI report , ‘ police could not recover any weapon from the murder site or inside the car to establish that it was a suicide case. The bullet that was recovered from Masood’s neck has been sent for examination, said police.

SC reopens Bhopal gas leak case

New Delhi ; August 31,2010

Agencies

Fourteen years after it had diluted charges in the Bhopal gas leak case, the Supreme Court on Tuesday decided to re-examine its own judgement that led to lighter punishment of two years imprisonment for the accused including former Union Carbide India Chairman Keshub Mahindra.

The court sought response from the seven accused on the CBI plea seeking restoration of the stringent charge of culpable homicide, which attracts a maximum punishment of 10 years’ jail term, against them for the world’s worst industrial disaster that left over 15,000 people dead and thousands maimed.

In chamber proceedings, a bench comprising Chief Justice S H Kapadia and Justices Altamas Kabir and R V Raveendran, issued notices on the curative petition filed by CBI seeking recall of the apex court’s 1996 judgement that had diluted the offence.

The curative petition was filed after a nationwide outrage over the trial court judgement in the 26-year-old case following which the Centre appointed a Group of Ministers (GoM) to recommend steps including ways to get the punishment enhanced.

The charge under section 304 part-II was diluted to section 304A by a bench comprising the then Chief Justice A M Ahmadi and Justice S B Majmudar on the plea of the accused in the 1984 gas disaster case.

Today’s decision of the court was communicated to the Attorney General G E Vahanvati and the matter will be heard after the completion of process of service of the notice.

The CBI has sought reconsideration of the September 13, 1996 apex court judgement which had whittled down the charge to ‘causing death due to rash and negligent act’ against Mahindra and six others.

Besides Mahindra, Vijay Gokhale, the then Managing Director of UCIL, Kishore Kamdar, then Vice President, J N Mukund, then Works Manager, S P Choudhary, then Production Manager, K V Shetty, then Plant Superintendent and S I Quereshi, then Production Assistant were convicted and sentenced to two years’ jail term by a trial court in Bhopal on June 7 this year.

The trial court verdict had sparked an outrage with activists and political parties seeking an appeal against it, maintaining the accused had been tried under a less stringent provision of law.

TheBhopalPost team is happy to share the good news of  its editor and head of affairs Raajkumar Keswani being the chosen one for the prestigious Prem Bhatia Award for year 2010 for the the best reporting on environmental issues.  The award will be presented at a function in New Delhi on August 11, 2010. Congratulations Sir from the entire TheBhopalPost Team and its readers!

Here is the official press release:

PREM BHATIA AWARDS 2010

The Prem Bhatia Award for the the best reporting on environmental issues has been given to veteran journalist Mr. Raajkumar Keswani, Editor website The Bhopal Post (www.thebhopalpost.com) for his coverage and reporting of the Bhopal’s Union Carbide disaster. He first forewarned about the impending disaster in 1982 and has been consistently following up the story for the past 25 years after it actually happened .

The Prem Bhatia Award for the  best political reporting for this year has been given to Ms. Ritu Sarin of the Indian Express.  Ms. Sarin has been recognized for her in depth investigating of key issues and events.  These include a series of articles on the impact of the Mumbai terrorist attacks and the influence of the government on CBI  operations.  Ms. Sarin heads the investigative team at the Indian Express.

Each award carries a prize of Rs. one lakh and a citation .Both awards will be presented at the 15th Prem Bhatia Memorial Lecture  which will be delivered on August 11, by Mr. Chandrashekhar Dasgupta at the India International Centre, New Delhi.  The theme of the lecture is “Rising China Emerging India and the Rest of the World”  Mr. Dasgupta is a former Ambassador to China and an expert on both China and climate affairs.   The lecture will be presided over by Mr. Salman Haider , former Foreign Secretary.

No records of Rajiv’s phone calls after Bhopal gas leak: PMO

PTI

The mystery about who facilitated the escape of Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson’s from the country after the Bhopal gas tragedy, may never be solved.

The then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Arjun Singh has said in the past that Anderson was allowed to leave Bhopal to prevent a law and order situation in the city, but it was assumed that the orders to let him fly out of India on December 7, 1984, came from a higher authority in Delhi. Had Anderson been promised “safe passage” by the External Affairs Ministry?

Whether that was in fact the case may never be known.

The Prime Minister’s office has now said in response to an RTI query, that it has no records of phone calls made or received by the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in the aftermath of country’s worst industrial disaster.

The minutes of the conversation between the two leaders might have indicated the circumstances in which Anderson was arrested and later allowed to use aircraft of Madhya Pradesh government to come to Delhi from where he left for United States.

But now the PMO has said it does not have records of any telephonic conversations between Rajiv Gandhi and US officials or with Arjun Singh in the week following the Bhopal Gas leak which killed over 15,000 people and maimed thousands.

“The applicant sought information relating to phone calls made/received by the Prime Minister during specified days in December, 1984. The matter was referred to the office for inputs. The office has informed that PMO does not have the information sought by the applicant,” Central Public Information Officer Sanjukta Ray said in her reply.

The RTI applicant had sought to know from the PMO the minutes of calls made to Arjun Singh during December 6-8, 1984 besides details of calls made to any government official of the MP government during the period of Anderson’s stay.

“The reply does not indicate that they (PMO) do not maintain information. Had it been the case they could have mentioned it in the reply,” an Information Commissioner commented.

The Real ‘Soorma Bhopali’

Nasir Kamal

Jagdeep played Soorma Bhopali in film 'Sholay' (1975)

People keep asking about the real ‘Soorma Bhopali’ who inspired the ‘Sholay’ character. Well, his real name was Nahar Singh. A man, who once  characterised the social milieu of Bhopal.

The late Nahar Singh, also addressed as ‘Mama’ and ‘Soorma Bhopali’, was a contemporary of writer-poet Javed Akhter (part of the Salim-Javed team that scripted Sholay) in Bhopal’s Saifia College. That was in mid-1960s. By that time, Soorma Bhopali was already known to most of old Bhopal. Javed was also known in the social and literary circles because of his parents – poet Jan Nisar Akhter and writer Safia.

Javed, who often slept in a room of Saifia College by pulling together two benches (have you read his poem ‘Woh kamra yaad aata hai’?), saw Nahar Singh from close quarters and enjoyed his sharp wit and his delightful company. But the reel character portrayed in Sholay a few years later had no resemblance with the real personality of Nahar Singh, except his sobriquet.

Nahar Singh was of medium height, dark hued, very witty and large-hearted person with a couldn’t-care-less attitude towards life. He invariably wore dark glasses and a golf cap. His sense of humour and his repartee made him popular; what made him earn respect and love was that he was always prepared to help friends facing any problem. Actually, he was always ready to intercede physically for friends and this perhaps earned him the sobriquet of ‘Soorma Bhopali’. No wonder, because he was named ‘Nahar’ (lion).

But he had a special love for his alma mater Saifia College. At that time, the college had a very strong hockey team that challenged the might of many a formidable team in various tournaments. ‘Mama’, who was a municipal employee, accompanied the team wherever it went as its unofficial cheerleader. He even picked up players from their homes on his way to railway station. He was always prepared to jump into the field whenever he felt umpires had done ‘injustice’ to the team or when the opposing team played rough. (When it came to a scrappy encounter, inflicting a bleeding injury on shins, knees and wrists through deft stick-work, which even the umpires could not see, was called ‘phool khila diya’ – made a flower bloom. Mama even shared the team’s accommodation and sometimes bore his travel expenses himself.

Former president of the Bhopal Hockey Association, Prof Rafat Mohammed Khan, himself a national player who represented Bhopal and Saifia College, has written that Nahar Singh’s many qualities included his deep spirituality. Whenever he saw lying on ground a wrapper of Ganesh Bidi (with a image of lord Ganesha printed on it), he would pick it up, direct a couple of profanities towards the irreverent smoker, and pocketed the wrapper to later dispose it off respectfully.

Khan wrote that once Saifia College was playing in Scindia Gold Cup at Gwalior. Olympian Inam-ur-Rehman was at his peak and unstoppable. The match was against a local team of Gwalior. It was an intense fight. Suddenly, someone from the stands shouted, “Pakistani hai! Maro!’ In a flash, an infuriated Nahar Singh was in front of the stand, shouting, “You are a Mahasabhayee (of Hindu Mahasabha)! No Muslim in my Bhopal can dare treat a Hindu player like this! Come on, come on! I can take you on! I am Soorma Bhopali!” and then he broke down.

Gwalior Superintendent of Police Kailash Saxena, who hailed from Bhopal, pacified Mama with great difficulty.

When Sholay was released, Nahar Singh went to the court, alleging he had been defamed. The case was settled out of court though it created quite a sensation in the town.

One night in 1979, he went to Bhadbhada check-post of BMC to drop a colleague on his scooter. While returning, a truck knocked down his scooter. Soorma Bhopali died and with him died a part of essential Bhopali character.

Games people played

Nasir Kamal

A QUARTER of a century back, passing through the graveyard behind old Saifia College to take a shortcut to Bhopal Talkies square, we students always noticed the huge stone slab on a grave with meticulously carved lines of the board game solah-gota, the local variant of Chinese chequers. Often we wondered what kind of people had the courage to play games in a graveyard (and time to carve stones for the purpose instead of just using chalk or charcoal). Looking back, it seems that there could not have been a better place to indulge in one of the favourite pastimes of the Bhopalis under the cool shade of the huge tamarind and custard apple trees; away from the din of the streets and constant nagging by wives and children. Nobody disturbed them in the graveyard; those resting there permanently the least.

This was the lonely place where a lecturer, also taking a shortcut, once accidentally came face to face with a college bully whom he had admonished in the classroom earlier for boorish behaviour. The lecturer, his heart in his mouth, thought he too would soon be resting in peace at the spot. To his surprised relief however, the bully folded his hands and tendered a sincere apology. Bully he might have been, he did not have the moral courage to apologise in public.

This graveyard was not the only place where the game was played with utmost seriousness. Nor was this the only board game played by the people. By the end of the 1960s, women in Bhopal had given up playing the ancient game of Chopad or Chausar. It is a matter of research as to what took people away from the game royal. Radio and cinema had arrived much earlier without making a dent at the popularity of the game and TV did not arrive until 1982. Moreover, other board games like Nau-gota, Solah-gota (played with nine and 16 pieces respectively), Changay-ashtay (another board game), chess and carrom continued to be popular. Why then only Chausar vanished?

Returning to our subject, when these local board games were the cheapest and most popular sources of entertainment for the poor and the middle classes, it was not uncommon to hear women calling their adolescent girls, “Manhoos, tu phir Bua ki ladki ke saath changay-ashtay khelnay chali gayee. Hum razai main doray daalnay ke liye pareshan ho rahe hain. Tujhay kya fikr.”

These games even inspired poetry. Take for example this couplet with game terminology:

“Ek hi waar me kar diya dushman ka safaya,

Changay main jugadda, pe main mari, ashtay baqaya!”.

What one needed to play these games were a companion, a chalk or charcoal piece to draw the board, a few tamarind seeds (called ‘chiyen’) broken in two halves, and pieces made of anything under the sun like broken bangles, small stones or kernels of palm-date and Jamun. Then flowed terms like ‘goat khulna’, kachhi goat, pakki goat, toad hona, laal hona, sookhi maat, geeli maat, cheenta-cheenta baithna and the like. Even mini-tournaments were held and contestants, like today’s hi-tech sports coaches, used palms as computers to draw sketches for various moves. ‘Naqshay banana’ they called it.

The games were played on roadside patiyas all over the town and of course in homes. Children happily spent their summer vacations playing these games. But some of the places where these games continued uninterrupted almost round the clock were Fire Brigade (the fire-fighters returned to restart from where they had left after dousing fire in some part of the town!), tonga stands, taxi stands, the boundary wall of Kamala Park, Yadgar-e-Shahjahani Park, the other small parks, the graveyards of course, under the tamarind tree beside the Upper Lake, in ‘deorhis’ (the entrance passages of old houses), Yacht Club, filtration plant and the government offices where only the employees played. Television and televised cricket then devoured these innocent pastimes of innocent people.

Shahjahan Begum of Bhopal

The begum’s footprint in UK

-Nasir Kamal

The Battle battle of Dunkirk in the Second World War between the Allies and Germany was the defence and evacuation of British and Allied forces in Europe from May 24 to June 4, 1940. More than 3.3 lakh Allied troops were rescued. Among them was the British Expeditionary Force that included “7 Animal Transport Regiment” of the Indian Army Service Corps. The Indian contingent included Muslims soldiers also.

After the rescue, some of them reached Dover and then were taken to Stoney Castle Camp. The following day, they were told that they would offer Friday prayers at Woking, Surrey. Least did they expect that a mosque existed there and even a small Muslim community in those distant parts of Britain.

Shah Jahan Mosque, UK

Next day, they were taken by surprise by a small but beautiful mosque. What perplexed them more was its name—Shahjahan Mosque. Surely, Mughal Emperor Shahjahan could not have built it. Inquiris revealed it was built by none other than Bhopal’s Shahjahan Begum! The war-weary soldiers thanked the Almighty for saving them in the battle and prayed for the Begum who built the mosque in those distant parts.

The incident was narrated by a soldier named Chowdhary Wali Muhammed (who had survived Dunkirk and offered prayers in that mosque) to Muslim P. Salamat of Britain who wrote a book on Woking’s cultural history.

It was the first purpose-built mosque in the UK and listed as Grade II heritage site. It was completed in 1889 and its architect was Dr Gottleib Leitner (1860-1899). Some say it was fully funded by the Begum who ruled from 1865 to 1901, and some say it was partly funded by her. In any case, the contribution by her must have been significant enough that the mosque was named after her. It is perhaps the only mosque funded by any of the Muslim princely rulers of Bhopal.

The mosque attracted royal visitors and many famous British converts including Lord Headley, who founded the British Muslim Society, and Marmaduke Pickthall who provided one of the most eloquent English translations of the Quran. Woking’s Muslim Burial Ground was built during the First World War as the only designated place of burial for Muslim soldiers who died at the Indian Army Hospital in Brighton Pavilion.

So, what if heritage buildings are facing neglect in Bhopal, at least one such building survives in a distant land and has been provided protection.

The Bhopal Chronology of Events

December 2-3, 1984 – Poisonous gas leak from Union Carbide’s pesticides factory. First Information Report filed on December 4.

7/12/ 1984 – Prime accused Warren Anderson amongst nine others arrested in India – Anderson is released on bail of 25,000 rupees, upon a promise to return.

20/2/1985: The President of India promulgated the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster (Processing of Claims) Ordinance1985, which empowered the Union of India (UOI) to act as the sole legal representative of all gas victims. The Ordinance was enacted as an Act of Parliament on 29 March 1985.

On 08 April 1985, legal proceedings for the recovery of compensation for the victims of the disaster were initiated by the UOI against UCC in the New York Southern District Court. Compensation was claimed from UCC on seven counts:

a) Multinational Enterprise Liability;b) Absolute Liability; c) Strict Liability; d) Negligence; e) Breach of Warranty; f) Misrepresentation; and g) Punitive Damages.

On 13 May 1986, the New York Court dismissed UOI’s plea on the grounds that the courts in the United States were not the appropriate forum to seek justice for the gas victims.

On 05 September 1986 the UOI filed a suit (Regular Suit No.1113/86) for damages in the District Court of Bhopal, which replicated, almost wholly, the suit it had filed before the US Court.

22/11/1986: UOI announced that the amount it would claim as damages from UCC exceeded 3000 million US dollars.

26/11/1986: Zahreeli Gas Kand Sangharsh Morcha and Jana Swasthya Kendra filed an application before the Bhopal District Court demanding payment of interim relief from UCC.

16/12/1986: UCC filed a written statement in reply to the Interveners’ plea in Regular Suit No.1113/86 contending that they are not liable.

2/2/1987 In suit No.1113/86 filed by the UOI on 5/9/1986, the District Judge of Bhopal, Mr.M.W.Deo, put forward a suo moto proposal regarding payment of interim relief to the Bhopal gas victims.

01/12/1987: CBI filed charge sheet in the criminal case before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Bhopal, against 12 accused including UCC, UCE, UCIL and the concerned officials of the said companies. [Accused No.1, Warren Anderson, the then Executive Chairman of UCC, USA; Accused No.2, Keshub Mahindra, the then Chairman of UCIL; Accused No.3, V.P.Gokhale, the then Managing Director of UCIL; Accused No.4, Kishore Kamdar, the then Vice President of UCIL; Accused No.5, J.Mukund, the then Works Manager of UCIL, Bhopal; Accused No.6, R.B.Roy Chowdhury, the then Asstt. Works Manager, UCIL, Bhopal (now deceased); Accused No.7, S.P.Choudhury, the then Production Manager of UCIL, Bhopal; Accused No.8, K.V.Shetty, the then Plant Superintendent, UCIL, Bhopal; Accused No.9, Shakeel Qureshi, the then Production Assistant, UCIL, Bhopal; Accused No.10, UCC, USA; Accused No.11, Union Carbide Eastern, Hong Kong; and Accused No.12, UCIL. ]

17/12/1987: As a consequence of the proposal mooted by the interveners on 26/11/1986 and the suo-moto proposal put forward by the Court on 02/02/1987, the District Court of Bhopal ordered the UCC to pay an interim compensation of Rs.350 crores ($270 million) to the Bhopal gas victims.

29/01/1988: UOI eventually filed the Amended Plaint in the District Court of Bhopal furnishing all material particulars and quantifying the approximate value of the total claims (531,770 until then) at Rs.3,900 crores (3 billion US dollars), excluding punitive damages, interests, and costs of the suit.

04/04/1988: On UCC’s appeal (revision petition No.26/88), the Madhya Pradesh High Court at Jabalpur modified the order of the Bhopal District Court dated 17/12/1987 in Regular Suit No.1113/86 and ordered UCC to pay an interim compensation of Rs.250 crores only.

04/02/1988: Hearing in the criminal case (R.T.No.2792/87) began before the CJM, Bhopal. Accused Nos.2 to 9 and 12 presented themselves before the Court. Accused Nos. 1, 10 and 11, i.e. Warren Anderson, UCC and UCE, were absent. Fresh notices were issued to summon those who were absent. 02/05/1988: UCC filed review petition (M.C.C. No.172 of 1988) in the High Court against the order of the High Court dated 04/04/1988 in revision petition No.26/88 in suit No.1113/88. [UCC also filed a petition for special leave to appeal (SLP) in the Supreme Court against the same order.]

06/07/1988: CJM, Bhopal, issued letter rogatory to the U.S. Administration seeking permission for the CBI to inspect the safety systems installed at the MIC Unit of UCC’s parent plant in Institute, West Virginia, USA. This was for comparing the safety standards with those of the safety systems that had been installed at the MIC Unit of the Bhopal plant.

08/07/1988: UOI filed SLP (No.8718 of 1988) in the Supreme Court against the High Court order dated 04/04/1988 in revision petition No.26/88.

08/09/1988: The Supreme Court admitted both UCC’s and UOI’s SLPs against the High Court order dated 04/4/1988 in revision petition No.26/88 as Civil Appeals Nos.3187-3188 of 1988. 08/09/1988: The Bhopal Gas Peedith Mahila Udyog Sanghathan (BGPMUS) filed a petition seeking interim relief for the gas victims before the Supreme Court.

15/11/1988: The CJM, Bhopal, issued bailable arrest warrant against Warren Anderson, accused No.1, for his non-appearance in the criminal case. He was ordered to be present in Court on 09/02/1989.

09/02/1989: When it became clear that Warren Anderson, accused No.1, had been deliberately avoiding to be present in the court, the CJM, Bhopal, after accepting the CBI’s application, proclaimed Anderson as an absconder under section 82(1) Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.PC), with the expectation that the accused would be present in court on 31/03/1989.

14/02/1989: The U.S. Administration granted permission to the CBI to inspect the safety systems of UCC’s pesticide plant at Institute, West Virginia, USA, for purposes of comparison of the safety systems with that of the safety systems installed at the Bhopal plant.

14-15/02/1989: In the midst of the ongoing hearing in the matter pertaining to payment of interim compensation (C.A. No.3187-88 of 1988) before the Supreme Court, there was a Court assisted settlement of the main suit itself. After withdrawing the original suit pending in the Bhopal Court before it and disposing of the same without adjudicating the issue in question, the Supreme Court directed that there be an overall settlement of the claims in the suit for $470 million (about Rs.713 crores) and termination of all civil and criminal proceedings. Bhopal activist groups and legal luminaries of the country question the break-neck speed with which the settlement was arrived at. Serious question were raised, like: (1) Did the CJM’s decision on 09/02/1989 to issue non-bailable warrant of arrest against UCC’s Chairman, Warren Anderson, and the U.S. Administration’s decision on 14/02/1989 to permit the CBI to inspect the safety systems of the MIC unit at UCC’s plant at Institute in West Virginia, USA, have anything to do with the hurried settlement? and (2) Why were gas-victims not served notice by way of public pronouncements regarding the terms of the proposed settlement before the UOI decided to agree to the settlement?

Feb./Mar.1989: Public protest against the unjust settlement followed by filing of a number of review and writ petitions against the settlement in the Supreme Court by the Bhopal Gas Peedith Mahila Udyog Sanghathan (BGPMUS), the Bhopal Gas Peedith Sangharsh Sahayog Samiti (BGPSSS), Raajkumar Keswani and other concerned groups.

05/03/1990: Succumbing to the mounting pressure from Bhopal activist groups , the Union Government decided to sanction Rs.360 crores from its treasury for the distribution interim relief to nearly 500,000 gas victims for next three years. Each person entitled to get Rs.200 (roughly 4$) per person per month.

03/10/1991: In response to review and writ petitions the Supreme Court of India, while upholding the settlement amount, revoked the criminal immunity granted to UCC and all other accused in the Bhopal gas leak disaster case.

11/11/1991 Criminal cases against all the accused were revived in the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court at Bhopal and summons were issued to all the accused asking them to be present in the Court on 07/12/1991.

07/12/1991: Accused Nos.2 to 9 and 12 responded to the summons and appeared before the CJM in R.T. No.2792/87. Accused Nos.1, 10 and 11 were absent. The CJM issued proclamations ordering accused Nos.1, 10, and 11 to be present before the Court on 01/02/1992.

01/02/1992: The CJM declares Warren Anderson, UCC (USA) and Union Carbide Eastern (Hong Kong) – accused Nos. 1, 10 and 11 respectively – as absconders for non appearance in the criminal case (R.T.No.2792/87). The CJM also declared that if the accused did not appear in the Court on 27/03/92 their properties could be attached.

20/3/1992: After being proclaimed as an absconder on 1/2/1992, UCC (USA) secretly set up the so-called Bhopal Hospital Trust in London (UK) with Ian Percival (a former Solicitor General of England and an attorney – during 1984-92 – with the US law firm, Sidley & Austin, which was retained by UCC) as its sole trustee. UCC, which is fully aware that all its properties in India are liable to be attached for non-appearance in the criminal case as per the order of the CJM, Bhopal, dated 1/2/1992, endowed those very properties to the Trust. Apart from an initial grant of 1000 Pound Sterling for administrative expenses of the Trust, the only funds endowed to the Trust by UCC are its shares in UCIL.

27/03/1992: The CJM, Bhopal, issued non-bailable warrant of arrest against accused No.1, Warren Anderson, and ordered the UOI to seek extradition of Anderson from the United States. [Neither this extradition order nor the Letter Rogatory issued by the CJM on 06/07/1988 have been executed by the UOI till date.]

15/4/1992: UCC Chairman, Robert Kennedy, announced that UCC had endowed all its shares in UCIL [which were liable to be attached as per the order of the CJM, Bhopal, dated 1/2/1992] to the so-called Bhopal Hospital Trust set up in London, UK.

30/04/1992: In response to the applications filed by the CBI, BGPSSS, Bhopal Group for Information and Action (BGIA), and BGPMUS, the CJM, Bhopal, refused to recognize the transfer of UCC’s shares in UCIL to the so-called Bhopal Hospital Trust and attached the shares and properties of UCC in India for non-appearance in the criminal case (R.T. No.2792/87).

08/04/93: The Sessions Court, Bhopal, framed charges against accused Nos. 2 to 9 & 12 (eight officials of UCIL and the company UCIL) for punishable offenses under sections 304 Part-II, 326, 324 and 429 of IPC read with section 35 of IPC.

13/09/1996: In Criminal Appeals Nos.1672-75 of 1996, filed before the Supreme Court by accused Nos.2 to 9 and 12 in the Bhopal gas leak disaster case, the Court reduced charges against the accused from Section 304-Part-II of IPC to Section 304-A, i.e., from a charge of culpable homicide to a case of negligence. Subsequently, the trial against the accused proceeded before the court of the CJM, Bhopal.

10/03/1997: The Hon’ble Supreme Court summarily dismissed the plea of BGPSSS against reduction of charges against the said accused Nos. 2 to 9 and 12 from Section 304 Part-II to Section 304-A at the preliminary hearing on 10/3/1997 without going into the merits of the plea and without issuing a reasoned order. [At the instance of BGPSSS, BGPMUS and BGIA, four crucial prosecution witnesses (PWs) appeared in the case, namely: Kamal Pareek (former safety officer of UCIL, PW 164); Hattim Jariwala (former workers’ union leader, PW 165); Shahnawaz Khan (a Bhopal based lawyer, PW 169); and Raajkumar Keswani (the Bhopal based journalist, who had issued the fore-warning regarding the potential threat from the Bhopal plant, PW 172).

20/7/2009: BGPSSS & BGPMUS filed another Application for Directions under Section 15 of the Evidence Act 1872 & Section 105B of CrPC urging the Court to initiate punitive action against the concerned public servants for non-execution of the Letter Rogatory issued by the CJM on 06.7.1988.

22/02/2010: Examination of prosecution witnesses and defence witnesses in R.T.No.8460 of 1996 against accused Nos.2 to 9 and 12 (UCIL and its officials) concluded before the Court of the CJM, Bhopal.

22/03/2010: Final hearing in R.T No.8460 of 1996 begins.

26/4/2010: BGPSSS & BGPMUS filed another Application for Directions under Section 216 Cr.PC for enhancing the charges against the accused to Section 304 Part-II of IPC from Section 304-A IPC on the basis of the evidence already placed before the Court by 178 prosecution witnesses and 8 defence witnesses. The application was rejected instantly by the CJM.

19/5/2010: Final hearing in R.T. No.8460 of 1996 concludes. The verdict to be pronounced on June 7, 2010.

7/6/2010 : All 8 accused in Bhopal gas disaster case convicted.  Just 2 years jail to killers of several thousand. Released on bail instantly. Prime accused Warren Anderson safe.