Moily seeks A-G opinion on curative plea
The Union law and justice ministry has received the opinion of Attorney General of India G.E. Vahanvati on curative petition in the Bhopal gas tragedy case. The A-G has suggested that there is legal scope for review of the 1996 verdict of the Supreme Court diluting charges against Union Carbide India Limited officials. The SC verdict had watered down the charges against the accused from that of culpable homicide not amounting to murder to criminal negligence.
Sources stated that law and justice minister Dr M. Veerappa Moily has asked the A-G to make a detailed presentation on the legal opinion for filing of a curative petition before the GoM soon. “After examining the opinion of the Attorney General the GoM will take a decision on filing the petition and forward its recommendation to the Cabinet which will finally give the go-ahead on the issue,” sources added.
The suggestion states that curative petition can be filed in the apex court to review the case and the convicts may be charged under a higher offence — Section 304 (II) of the Indian Penal Code, rather than section 304 (A). While the former carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, the latter provides for a sentence of just two years.
The law ministry’s suggestion to the A-G to brief the GoM once again indicated that there were still several “legal complications” to make a watertight case for filing of the curative petition after 14 years of the verdict.
Earlier, the GoM, which had taken the Bhopal gas tragedy case on top priority after the June 7 verdict of the trial court, had set a deadline of July 15 to file the curative petition. Home minister P. Chidambaram heads the GoM while Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mr M. Veerappa Moily, Mr S. Jaipal Reddy, Mr Kamal Nath, Ms Kumari Selja, Mr M.K. Alagiri, Mr Prithviraj Chavan and Mr Jairam Ramesh are its members. Madhya Pradesh minister in-charge of rehabilitation is a permanent invitee to the panel. The petition will seek re-examination the apex court’s judgement in which the bench had watered down the charges against the accused.
Post new comment