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SC reopens Bhopal tragedy case after curative petition for 10 year jail terms

Bhopal gas tragedy
Bhopal gas tragedy
The Supreme Court has reopened the Bhopal gas leak disaster case today after a curative petition filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), seeking harsher punishments for the accused after convictions in June resulted in a two-year suspended jail sentence for those responsible.

The CBI was seeking to restore a charge of culpabale homicide against the defendants, which include former Union Carbide India chairman Keshub Mahindra, according to news reports. The offence carries a maximum jail term of 10 years.

Chief Justice SH Kapadia headed the bench that sought a response from the defendants on the curative petition, which challenges a Supreme Court judgment from September 1996 that diluted the offence to death by negligence under section 304A of the Indian Penal Code, which carries a maximum of two years imprisonment.

The CBI submitted that the accused had knowledge with regard to the consequences of their act and should be prosecuted under culpable homicide.

The Indian Express reported today that the CBI petitioned that the “apex court should invoke its inherent power in public interest to address and remedy errors apparent on the face of record in the judgement and order of September 13, 1996”. The 1996 decision had suffered from serious errors as the charges under Section 304 Part II of the IPC were quashed without considering the prosecution’s material, said the CBI.

"This curative petition is an attempt by the state to set right this gross miscarriage and perpetuation of irremediable injustice being suffered by the victims in particular, the society at large, and the nation as a whole," the CBI according to reports.

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