Fresh bid for Warren’s extradition

The government will make a fresh bid to seek former Carbide chief Warren Anderson's extradition to stand trial in India for the gas tragedy.

The government will make a fresh bid to seek former Carbide chief Warren Anderson's extradition to stand trial in India for the gas tragedy.

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It will also file a curative petition against the 1996 SC verdict that diluted the criminal charges against him. The plea will seek to enhance the charge against Carbide officials from causing death by negligence to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, which attracts a 10-year jail term.

While recommending extradition, the GoM noted the fresh evidence against Anderson from the recent verdict. This includes testimonies of witnesses that Carbide’s bosses knew of the plant’s faulty design and improper maintenance.

Though the government had sought Anderson’s extradition earlier, it did not, according to the US, conform with the provisions (article 2 and 9) of the India-US extradition treaty. The fresh attempt is expected to address this.

Another curative petition will be filed in the SC to reopen the 1989 settlement between Carbide and the government that extinguished Carbide’s civil and criminal liability in exchange for $470 million compensation. “That pact was made when the number of victims known was 1.25 lakh against the 5.6 lakh today,” said a source.

The case to establish the liability of Dow Chemicals—the new owners of the plant—will be pursued in Madhya Pradesh HC. On the anvil is a plea for quick disposal of the case and a hike in the Rs 100 crore then demanded for remediation.