Madhya Pradesh High Court: In a petition against the non-compliance with the Supreme Court’s 2012 directives regarding the treatment and rehabilitation of Bhopal gas victims, a division bench comprising of Sanjeev Sachdeva, ACJ and Vinay Saraf, J., directed the concerned authorities to examine the Monitoring Committee’s status report and take proactive steps for implementation of the directions in respect of which there are no issues.
The instant matter involves ensuring proper medical treatment and rehabilitation for the victims affected by the disaster in the Bhopal gas tragedy case. In 2012, the Supreme Court issued 20 directives for the treatment and rehabilitation of Bhopal gas victims and instructed the formation of a monitoring committee to ensure implementation. The monitoring committee was mandated to present its report to the High Court every three months, and the High Court was to issue necessary guidelines based on these reports. Despite these directives, a contempt petition was filed in 2015 due to non-compliance with the recommendations of the monitoring committee.
The Monitoring Committee submitted a report dated 08-05-2024 in the Court, which highlighted several deficiencies in the provision of medical treatment and assistance to victims. The report also includes suggestions for improving the effectiveness of medical treatment and assistance.
The Court directed the concerned authorities to examine the status report submitted by the Monitoring Committee and take proactive steps to implement the directions where there are no issues. The Court directed the concerned authorities to file a response for directions where issues exist. The Court listed the case for further hearing on 30-07-2024.
[Bhopal Gas Peedith Mahila Udyog Sangthan v. Union of India, 2024 SCC OnLine MP 4817, Decided on 09-07-2024]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
Shri N.D. Jaiprakash – Petitioner No. 1 appears in person.
Shri Naman Nagrath – Senior Advocate with Shri Jubin Prasad and Ms. Rachna Dhingra – petitioner No. 2 appears in person.
Shri Vikram Singh – Counsel for the Respondents/Union of India.
Shri H.S. Ruprah, Additional A.G. and Shri A.D. Bajpai, Government Advocate, Counsel for the Respondent No. 3 and 4/State.
Shri Ashish Shroti – Counsel for the intervener.
Shri Vijit Sahu – Counsel for the BMHRC.
