Bhopal case: SC to hear for harsher charges

A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court will hear tomorrow the Centre's plea for prosecuting Bhopal gas tragedy case accused, who have escaped with lighter punishment of two years jail term, under the stringent penal provision attracting maximum ten years of imprisonment.

The bench headed by the Chief Justice SH Kapadia will take up the curative petition seeking to recall the apex court's 14-year-old judgment that had diluted the charges against the accused who were prosecuted just for the offence of being negligent.

The petition filed by the CBI sought restoration of the stringent charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder instead of death caused due to negligence against the accused in world's worst industrial disaster that left over 15,000 people dead and thousands maimed.

In order to expedite the hearing of the case, the bench, also comprising justices Altamas Kabir, RV Raveendran, B Sudershan Reddy and Aftab Alam will hear the case on day-to-day basis and after the criminal case it would hear the plea for enhancement of compensation from Rs 750 crore to Rs 7,700 crore for the victims.