Victims victory
The survivors of the Bhopal gas disaster have cause for cheer. A city court has rejected the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) plea to dilute charges against former chairperson of Union Carbide Corporation Warren Anderson. The chief judicial magistrate of Bhopal observed that Anderson should be charged with culpable homicide for the 1984 mishap. He also directed the CBI to expedite the extradition of Anderson and inform the court about the steps taken in this direction during the next hearing of the case on October 17.
Earlier, the CBI had filed the application for dilution of charges against Anderson in the light of a 1996 Supreme Court order. The CBI sought to try him only for negligence instead of culpable homicide, the original charge against him. If proved guilty, Anderson now faces a more severe sentence of at least 10 years in prison.