Union law and justice minister M. Veerappa Moily said on Tuesday, a day after the Bhopal gas tragedy judgment, that the case against former Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson was not over and that he can be brought back and tried. He, however, refused to discuss the implications of the verdict on the current debate over the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill.
“Legally, and technically, we can’t say the case against Anderson is over. The case against him is still on. Suppose he can be brought back, he can still be tried,” Dr Moily said. He pointed out that Anderson’s name figured in the chargesheet filed by the CBI in the case.
Asked whether the government was making, or would make, efforts to extradite Mr Anderson, he said he could not comment on the issue. On whether the Centre could do something in a case where justice came too late and the quantum of punishment was too little, he said he didn’t know whether the Central government could intervene at this stage.
[Meanwhile, in the first meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on science and environment on the nuclear liability bill, its members raised questions over the Rs 500-crore cap proposed on compensation, PTI reported quoting sources. Officials representing the science and technology ministry explained the reasoning behind specifying a “cap” on liability, arguing that it was necessary for the operating company to take insurance cover. The government has already expressed willingness to make changes in the bill if the standing committee so suggests.