Madhya Pradesh HC admits PIL seeking report on Anderson's 'safe passage'

MP high court on Thursday admitted a PIL demanding the state government to furnish the report of retired Justice SL Kochar Commission.

On June 13, 2010, the state government had set up one-man judicial commission headed by retired justice SL Kochar to probe into the gas tragedy including the then government’s role in arrest, release and safe passage given to main accused late Warren Anderson to fly from Bhopal to Delhi and then USA. Anderson was the CEO of Union Carbide when the disaster took place.

‘The people do not know the reality as to how Anderson could get the aircraft and who allowed him to fly out of country’, the PIL said.

‘All this crucial information has not been put before the public till today. The politicians and government officials were hand in glove with those responsible for the disaster. As a result, the people could not get justice’, the PIL further claimed.

Before filing the PIL, the social organisation Nagrik Upbhokta Margdarshak Manch had sent legal notice on November 4, 2014 to the state government and the Commission demanding to make the commission’s report public. The Manch filed the PIL as it didn’t get reply to its notices.

NUMM senior activist PG Najpandey said, ‘Now Anderson is no more. Therefore there is likelihood that a curtain will be dropped as to cover the whole incident so that real truth will not come before the public’.

State government counsel Swapnil Ganguli opposed the PIL stating already a petition of the Bhopal Gas Peedith Mahila Udyog Sangthan and others is pending covering every aspect of gas-affected people and there was no need for having another petition related to the Bhopal gas tragedy. The government counsel prayed the court to link this PIL with that of the pending petition.