Warren Anderson's extradition plea pending with US: CBI

The extradition request of former Union Carbide chairman Warren Anderson, the main accused in the Bhopal gas tragedy case, is still under examination as no decision has been taken by the United States Department of Justice in this regard, the Central Bureau of Investigation said in its status report filed with a local court.

The status report was submitted in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate, following a petition filed by the organisations working for the cause of the gas tragedy survivors.

The court had first issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Anderson on April 10, 1992 and later again on July 22, 2009, the report said.

The CBI said it forwarded the request for the extradition of Anderson on April 5, 2011 to the ministry of external affairs for onward transmission to competent US authorities through diplomatic channels.

The extradition request of Anderson is still under examination and no decision has yet been taken by America’s department of justice in this regard, the CBI said.

Earlier, on June 7, 2010, the same court had convicted all the accused in the case -- except Anderson, officials of the Union Carbide Corporation US and UCC Hongkong -- as they are absconding.

Abdul Jabbar, the convenor of the Bhopal Gad Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangthan, alleged that the CBI was "not serious" about the issue of extradition of Anderson.

The Sanghatan, along with other survivor organistions, had filed a petition in the court in this regard.

Jabbar said that since the stay on making Dow Chemicals, the current owner of Union Carbide, a party in the case has been lifted by the high court, the local court should issue a fresh notice to the company.

Satinath Shadangi of the Bhopal Group of Information and Action also put forth similar points in the matter, following which the court said that it will examine all these issues and fixed May 3 as the next date of hearing.