BHOPAL, India, Dec. 17,An Indian Judge told Union Carbide Corporation on Thursday to pay 270 million dollars to Bhopal poison gas leak victims while he decides who to blame for the World’s worst industrial disaster.

The US. Multinational said the ruling for interim compensation amounted to awarding damages without a trial.

The Indian government is suing the company for 3.3 billion dollars damages over the December 3, 1984, leak of gas from a pesticide plant in this Central Indian city which killed more than 2,500 people and injured 200,000 others.

Victims and relief workers demonstrating outside the courthouse cheered after Judge M.W. Deo told Union Carbide to pay the money to the court within two ‘months.

Union Carbide reacted swiftly to the ruling which it said “amounts to awarding damages without a trial, a practice that runs ‘counter to the laws of India and other democracies”.

“Although we are deeply concerned for the victims, interim ‘compensation has never been alowed where the evidence in respect to the liability is in dispute”

Robert M, Berzok, Director of Corporate Communications, said in a statement in New York.

Judge Deo, in a 17-page order, said the ruling would not prejudice the outcome.

“Being interlocutory in nature, this order shall naturally be without prejudice to the rights and defenses of the parties to the suit and the counter-claim that may be finally adjudicated”, Deo said.

“Attempts at an overall settlement appear to have bogged down in the din of diverse loud voices, leaving the poor gas victims pathetically past even the third anniversary of the unprecedented disaster to fight out legal battles”, the Judge said.

For that reason the court thought it “in the interest of Justice and Fair Play” to hear the interim relief application

The Indian government had earlier rejected Union Carbide’s offer of 1.5 million dollars interim relief, and talks between the two on an out-of-ourt settlement broke down last month.

India filed homicide charges on December 1 against the company’s former Chairman Warren Anderson and eight other former officials

Carbide based in Danbury, Connecticut, maintaining sabotage by a disgruntled employee caused the disaster at the pesticides plant owned by its subsidiary Union Carbide India. India has ruled ‘out sabotage.

Article extracted from this publication >>  December 25, 1987