Dow Chem denies report of Indian court notice on Bhopal case

14 January 2005 06:50  [Source: ICIS news]

SINGAPORE (CNI)--Dow Chemical Co denied on Thursday reports that it was served a notice by the Indian district court of Bhopal with regards to the ongoing case relating to the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy.

 

CNI reported last week that the District Court of Bhopal in India had issued a notice to Dow Chemical Co on 6 January, requesting that the company state why it should not present Union Carbide Corp (UCC) in an ongoing court case.

 

The order was supposedly issued by Chief Judicial Magistrate Anil Kumar Gupta based on an application filed on 26 February 2004 by the Bhopal Group for Information and Action, an NGO that is campaigning for justice for the victims of the gas leak.

 

Dow, which is based in Midland, Michigan, US, was expected to respond to the notice on 15 February, the date for the next court hearing.

 

Scot Wheeler, a spokesman for Dow Chemical Co in Michigan, told CNI late on Thursday: "Contray to media reports, I can assure you that as of this time Dow Chemical Co is not a party to the proceedings and has not been served in this matter.

 

"The order has a line about a notice but the language is somewhat vague as the court's intention regarding Dow Chemical Co, and again, we have not been served in the matter.

 

"Dow has not been served with any notice to appear on 15 February. The order dismissed Dow India Ltd from the proceedings and this is clear."

 

He pointed out that the chief judicial magistrate of Bhopal issued an order on 6 January which dismissed Dow Chemical India, and said that the company was an inappropriate party to the proceedings.

 

"We're pleased with the ruling as neither Dow Chemical Co nor Dow Chemical India ever owned or operated the Bhopal facility, and the companies have neither connection nor any legal liability for the tragic events of the 1984 gas release," Wheeler said.

 

Dow had previously said that the issue of corporate responsibility had been resolved under a settlement reached between UCC and the Indian government, and approved by India's Supreme Court in 1989.

 

Twenty years ago on 3 December, around half a million people of Bhopal were exposed to methyl isocyanate (MIC), a toxic gas, after a gas tank leak at an UCC pesticide plant in the city.

 

The official death count for the tragedy was 3828, although the latest report by Amnesty International estimated that more than 7000 people died within days of the gas leak and another 15 000 died in subsequent years.

By: Edgar Ang
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