Case against Anderson not closed: Moily

Law Minister Veerappa Moily today said the case against former Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson in connection with the Bhopal gas tragedy was not closed.

"As far as Anderson is concerned, the case is not closed," Moily said.

He said the name of Anderson figured in the chargesheet filed by the CBI in the case.

"The CBI has filed chargesheet. The courts then frame charges. There is one person here who has not responded to the summons or replied to the charges. He has absconded and was declared a proclaimed offender," he said.

"That does not mean that the case against him (Anderson) is closed," Moily said.

The Minister had yesterday said that the government will fast-track the Bhopal gas tragedy case in the High Court as it has learnt "big lessons" from the verdict and could go in for a stand-alone legislation to ensure that the culprits in such incidents are brought to book effectively.

Nearly 26 years after world's worst industrial disaster left over 15,000 dead, former Union Carbide India Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six others were yesterday sentenced to two years imprisonment. The outcome of the case came under attack from civil rights activists and political parties.

89-year-old Anderson, the then Chairman of Union Carbide Corporation of USA, who lives in the United States, appeared to have gone scot-free for the present as he is still an absconder and did not subject himself to trial. There was no word about him in the judgement of the Bhopal court.