BHOPAL India: The Union Carbide Corporation must reply within four weeks to the Indian governments compensation claim on behalf of victims of the world’s worst industrial accident a Bhopal Judge ruled today.
Judge Ram Murthy Rastogi set October 6 as the date by which Union Carbide must file a written reply to 8 suit filed by the government in the district court here last Friday.
The Indian Government is claiming unspecified compensation plus punitive damages on behalf of all the victims of the leakage of toxic methyl isocyanate from the multinational company’s Bhopal pesticides plant on December 3 1984.
More than 2000 people were killed by the accident up to 200000 were injured many of them permanently and around half a million claims for compensation have been made.
A government lawyer told the court Delhi was still considered what should be done about 6500 claims filed privately in the aftermath of the tragedy.
These were stayed in December last year when the government decided to take over sole responsibility for pressing the claims on behalf of all the victims.
Article extracted from this publication >> September 12, 1986
