Bhopal tragedy verdict anguishing, says Kalam

Former President A P J Abul Kalam has termed as "anguishing" the court verdict in Bhopal gas tragedy and said "the output of law and judiciary was not proportionate to the sufferings of the people."

"I read about the verdict and I personally feel that the verdict which came after around 26 years of Bhopal gas tragedy is anguishing," Kalam said in Indore in reply to a question during a programme held at Indore Press Club on Thursday.

The former president said law and judiciary should treat all citizens as equal. They should not differentiate between them whether they are poor or rich.

To a question, he said, "How can I raise a question on a court verdict? But about the verdict in Bhopal gas tragedy, I have a strong personal feeling that the output of law and judiciary was not proportionate to the sufferings of the people."

A quarter century after the world's worst industrial disaster that killed over 15,000 people, a local court on June 7 convicted former Union Carbide India Chairman Keshub Mahindra and seven others in the Bhopal Gas tragedy case and awarded them a maximum of two years imprisonment.

However, there was no word about Warren Anderson, the then Chairman of Union Carbide Corporation of USA, in the judgement delivered by CJM Mohan P Tiwari, 23 years after the trial commenced. 89-year-old Anderson, who lives in the US, left the country soon after the tragedy and was declared an absconder.

The verdict has came under attack from various sections of society, including civil rights activists and political parties.

Image: Former President APJ Abdul Kalam