NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court Monday directed Union Carbide India LTD a subsidiary of the multinational Union Carbide group to file an affidavit within three weeks on allegations by the workers union of the Bhopal plant that the company was using employees as “guinea pigs” to test toxic chemicals.

The direction was passed by a division bench comprising Justice M. Venkatachallaiah and Justice R.C. Patnaik on a petition filed by the Union Carbide employees union.

The petition has sought a direction from the court for enforcement of the fundamental rights of Union members as well as a direction to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to produce all medical reports and correspondence of research results seized from the Bhopal plant after the December 1984 gas disaster

The petition has urged the appointment of a medical committee to examine members of the petitioner union who were used as guinea pigs to test the after effects of the toxic chemicals like MIC gas and render appropriate treatment for them.

Article extracted from this publication >> April 17, 1992