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The Court rejected the plea advanced by UCC of breach of due process by non-observance of proper standards and ulti- mately stated:

"Any denial by the Indian Courts of due proc- ess can be raised by UCC as a defence to the plaintiffs' later attempt to enforce a result- ing judgment against UCC in this country."

After Judge Keenan made the order of 12th of May, 1986, in September of that year Union of India in exercise of its power under the Act filed a suit in the District Court at Bhopal. In the plaint it was stated that death toll upto then was 2,660 and serious injuries had been suffered by several thousand persons and in all more than 5 lakh persons had sought damages upto then. But the extent and nature of the injuries or the aftereffect thereof suffered by victims of the disaster had not yet been fully ascertained though survey and scientific and medical studies had already been undertaken. The suit asked for a decree for damages for such amount as may be appropriate under the facts and the law and as may be determined by the Court so as to fully, fairly and finally compensate all persons and authorities who had suffered as a result of the disaster and were having claims against the UCC. It also asked for a decree for effective damages on an amount sufficient to deter the defendant and other multi-national corporations involved in business activities from committing wilful and malicious and wanton disregard of the rights and safety of the citizens of India. While the litigations were pending in the US Courts an offer of 350 million dollars had been made for settlement of the claim. When the dispute arising out of interim compensation ordered by the District Court of Bhopal came before the High Court, efforts for settlement were continued. When the High Court reduced the quantum of interim compensation from Rs. 350 crores to a sum of Rs. 250 crores, both UCC and Union of India challenged the decision of the High Court by filing special leave petitions. It is in these cases that the matter was settled by two orders dated 14th and 15th of February, 1989. On May 4, 1989, the Constitution Bench which had recorded the settlement proceeded to set out brief reasons on three aspects "(a) How did this Court arrive at the sum of 470 million US dollars for an over-all settle- ment?

I agree with the majority view.

VENKATACHALIAH, J. - These Review Petitions under Arti- cle 137 and Writ Petitions under Article 32 of the Constitu- tion of India raise certain fundamental issues as to the constitutionality, legal-validity, propriety and fairness and conscionability of the settlement of the claims of the victims in a mass-tort-action relating to what is known as the "Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster"considered world's industrial disaster, unprecedented as to its nature and magnitude. The tragedy, in human terms, was a terrible one. It has taken a toll of 4000 innocent human lives and has left tens of thousands of citizens of Bhopal physically affected in various degrees. The action was brought up by the Union of India as parens-patriae before the District Court Bhopal in Original Suit No. 1113 of 1986 pursuant to the statutory enablement in that behalf under the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster (Processing of Claims) Act 1985 ('Act for short') claiming 3.3 Billion Dollars as compensation. When an inter-locutory matter pertaining to the in-

4. Thereafter the Union of India was constrained to alter its choice of the forum and to pursue the remedy against the UCC in the District Court at Bhopal. That is how Original Suit No. 1113 of 1986 seeking a compensation of 3 Billion Dollars against the UCC and UCIL came to be field at Bhopal.

Efforts were made by the District Court at Bhopal to explore the possibilities of a settlement. But they were not fruitful. Zahreeli Gas Kand Sangharsh Morcha one of the victim-organisations appears to have moved the Court for award of interim-compensation. On 13th December 1987, The District Court made an order directing payment of Rupees 350 crores as interim compensation. UCC challenged this award' before the High Court of Madhya Pradesh. The High Court by its order dated 4th of April, 1988 reduced the quantum of interim compensation to Rs. 250 crores. both Union of India and UCC brought up appeals by Special Leave before this Court against the order of the High Court- Government of India asailing the reduction made by the High Court in the quantum of interim compensation from Rs. 350 crores to Rs. 250 crores and the UCC assailing the very jurisdiction and permissibility to grant interim compensa- tion in a part-action where the very basis of liability itself had been disputed. The contention of the UCC was that in a suit for damages where the basis of the liability was disputed the Court had no power to make an award of interim-compensation. It was urged that in common law-and that the law of India too-in a suit for damages no court could award interim-compensation.

6. Before we examine the grounds of challenge to the settlement we might, perhaps, refer to three events. The first is that the Central Bureau of Investigation, Govern- ment of India, brought criminal charges under Sections 304, 324, 326, 429 read with Section 35 of the Indian Penal Code against Mr.Warren Anderson, the then Chairman of the UCC and several other persons including some of the officers in- charge of the affairs of the UCIL. On 7th December, 1984 Mr.Warren Anderson came to India to see for himself the situation at Bhopal. He was arrested and later released on bail. One of the points seriously urged in these petitions is the validity of the effect of the order of this Court which terminated those criminal proceedings. The second event is that on 17th of November, 1986 the District Court at Bhopal, on the motion of the plaintiff- Union of India, made an order restraining the UCC by an interlocutory injunction, from selling its assets, paying dividends, buying back debts, etc. during the pendency of the suit. On 30th of November, 1986 the District Court vacated that injunction on the written assurance and under- taking dated 27th November 1986 filed by the UCC to maintain unencumbered assets of three billion U.S. Dollars. One of the points argued in the course of the hearing of these petitions is whether, in the event the order recording the settlement is reviewed and the settlement set aside, the UCC and UCIL would become entitled to the restitution of the funds that they deposited in Court pursuant to and in performance of their obligations under the settlement. The UCC deposited 420 million U.S. Dollars and the UCIL the rupee equivalent of 45 million U.S. Dollars. 5 million U.S. Dollars directed by Judge Keenan to be paid to the Interna- tional Red Cross was given credit to. The petitioners urge that even after setting aside of the settlement, there is no compulsion or obligation to restore to the UCC the amounts brought into Court by it as such a step would prejudicially affect the interests of the victims. The other cognate question is whether, if UCC is held entitled to such resti- tution, should it not, as a pre-condition, be held to be under a corresponding obligation to restore and effectuate its prior undertaking dated 27th November 1987 to maintain unencumbered assets of three billion U.S.Dollars, accepting which the order dated 30th November, 1987 of the District Court Bhopal came to be made.