Bhopal gas tragedy: SC nixes Centre's plea for more compensation to victims

A Constitution Bench said that the sum of Rs 50 crore lying with the RBI shall be utilised by the Union of India to satisfy pending claims

The Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed the Centre’s curative petition seeking more compensation from Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) by reopening the settlement in the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, which had claimed at least 3,000 lives.

A Constitution Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, Abhay S Oka, Vikram Nath and JK Maheshwari said that any attempt to increase the compensation should have been made soon after the tragedy, and not three decades later.

The apex court also criticised the Centre for not framing an insurance policy for the victims in terms of its undertaking given to the court earlier.

“The responsibility was