Anderson to be brought back, tried, says Moily

A day after the judgment in the Bhopal gas tragedy case, the Union law and justice minister, Mr M. Veerappa Moily, stated that the case against former Union Carbide chief, Warren Anderson, was not over and that he can be brought back and tried. The law minister, however, refused to discuss the implications of the Bhopal gas disaster case 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 Centre 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.]

“I will be working on a standalone law to deal with manmade disasters which should be ready in the next six months,” Dr Moily said.

Meanwhile, in the US, the assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, Mr Robert Blake said that he hoped the “verdict would help bring some closure to the victims and their families.” The US also hoped that the verdict would not affect the Indian civil nuclear liability bill.

When asked whether the government was having a relook at the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill in the wake of the gas tragedy verdict, he said the matter was already before a parliamentary standing committee and that he “would not like to make a comment on it”.
Meanwhile, sources in the home ministry said it is going to be a tough task getting Anderson extradited to India. “It is difficult to secure his extradition even though we may send fresh requests to the US,” a source said.
Sources said no fresh move has been made so far to seek Mr Anderson’s extradition following the verdict in the Bhopal gas tragedy case.