The Bhopal Gas Tragedy verdict is out. It took 25 years to convict eight persons, with a possible jail sentence of a maximum of just two years.  In the judgement delivered by Chief Judicial Magistrate Mohan P Tiwari, pronounced the verdict in a packed court room convicting 85-year-old Mahindra, the non-executive former Chairman of UCIL, and seven others including Vijay Gokhle, the then Managing Director of UCIL, Kishore Kamdar, the then Vice President, J N Mukund, the then Works Manager, S P Choudhary, the then Production Manager, K V Shetty, the then Plant Superintendent and S I Quereshi, the then Production Assistant.

They were held guilty under Sections 304-A (causing death by negligence), 304-II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and 336, 337 and 338 (gross negligence) of the Indian Penal Code. Former Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan who just took over as the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) believes the verdict on the Bhopal gas tragedy has “come late“.

On December 3, 1984, the extremely toxic methyl isocyanate started leaking from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, from the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Close to 800,000 people were exposed to the deadly gas with Union Carbide saying that 3,800 people died and thousands other became disabled, with many dying thereafter.

The Bhopal gas leak is one of the worst industrial disasters in history. It demonstrates what can happen when safety measures are overlooked. The prime accused, the Union Carbide Corporation CEO Warren Anderson has however not been convicted and named an absconder.

Twenty five years on, this lethal disaster still sees protests, even with people pouring into Delhi on hunger strikes but with no one to help them; after all, these are people with no real power. Despite the years having passed by and the convictions, Bhopal still remains a continuing tragedy. Recent soil and groundwater samples taken near the Union Carbide India Limited site and in the surrounding areas still show a plethora of poison.  In fact, the then repository of chemical sludge from the pesticide plant is now a pond where slum children play and dogs swim on hot afternoons.