Chief Judicial Magistrate, Bhopal

The Bhopal gas leak disaster symbolises the failure of the legal system in general and the failure of the system to respond to the disaster in particular. The twenty years of engagement with the law and the justice system holds many lessons for the future. It is time for introspection and assessment.

Twenty years after the worst ever man-made disaster in the country, victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy got a direction from the Supreme Court for the disbursement of a Rs 1,567 crore compensation to them, paid by US pesticide major Union Carbide.

Supreme Court order dated July 19 2004 directed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to release Rs 1503 crore deposited with it by the company for disbursement to Bhopal gas tragedy victims.

Twenty years ago around half a million people were exposed to toxic chemicals during a catastrophic gas leak from a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. More than 7,000 people died within days. A further 15,000 died in the following years. Around 100,000 people are suffering chronic and debilitating illnesses for which treatment is largely ineffective.