Bhopal Gas Tragedy: Government Unconcerned

BHOPAL TRAGEDY

Survivors chain themselves near PM’s home

TNN & AGENCIES

New Delhi: Thirtyseven Bhopal gas disaster survivors, including 22 women, were arrested on Wednesday when they chained themselves near Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s residence demanding the government to address their grievances.

The police said the people chained themselves to the railings opposite the heavilyguarded Prime Minister’s residence. “They were not allowed to go near the PM’s house, so they chained themselves. We cut their chains and took them into custody,” said Ajay Kashyap, joint commissioner of police (New Delhi Range).

Under the banner of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Karmachari Sangh, Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangarsh Morcha and Bhopal Group for Information and Action, the protesters sought legal action against Union Carbide and Dow Chemicals and better rehabilitation of the Bhopal victims.
On the night of Dec 2,3 1984, a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal spewed tonnes of poisonous methyl isocyanate gas, killing some 3,800 people instantly and many more later. Dow Chemicals later bought Union Carbide.

The world’s worst industrial disaster also affected thousands, many of who continue to suffer from various chronic diseases.

Contaminated groundwater around the plant area still infects people with various
ailments ranging from skin problems to birth defects, say activists working among the survivors.

Many of the survivors have been staging a protest in New Delhi for nearly two months. They had sought a meeting with the Prime Minister in January.

Nityanand Jayaraman, an activist, said: “On April 16, a Bhopal boy wrote a letter to the Prime Minister using blood drawn from the Bhopal victims, seeking an hour of his time. “The letter was delivered to the Prime Minister along with handwritten notes from more than 500 children from across the country,” he said.

2,800 people from 18 countries have sent fax to the PMO seeking to meet Singh. AGENCIES

Children of Bhopal gas tragedy survivors protest against the government apathy

Gazette notifications will now be available online

Extracts

Mahendra Kumar Singh | TNN

New Delhi: Now, a simple click of the mouse will lead you to all central government gazette notifications with the urban development ministry developing an e-gazette system. The website will also contain Delhi government’s notifications relating to subjects under the Centre’s jurisdiction.

The system to be maintained by the department of printing and publication of the ministry will ensure datewise, monthwise and subjectwise availability of all notifications which contain government policy and directives.

A senior ministry official said the online system was devised to reduce the time lag as well as to facilitate easy accessibility for users all over the country. “It will also ensure transparency,” he added.

Presently, gazette notifications are available to the public only after 10-15 days of the date of publication and people across the country have to travel to the state capital to get a copy of the document.

The e-gazette process will also help users for other purposes such as research, court cases and settlement of legal documents. A ministry official said that the printed version would continue to remain in vogue while the e-gazette would have its own usefulness.

The system will ensure uploading of all notifications on the e-gazette website and will be available to users on payment of price.

Cheque Bounces: Who is respnsible? Company or Signatory? SC split over verdict.

SC split over verdict in cheque bounce case

New Delhi: A two-member bench of the Supreme Court delivered a split verdict on whether a company’s authorized signatory alone can be prosecuted in a cheque bounce case if a complainant chose not to proceed against the organization.

The bench of Justices S B Sinha and V S Sirpurkar has now requested the CJI to refer the issue to a larger bench.

While Justice Sinha felt that the organization, and not just the individual signatory, was liable for criminal prosecution if the bounced cheque was issued on behalf of the
company, Justice Sirpurkar said there was nothing wrong if the complainant chose to proceed only against the individual signatory.

The verdict was delivered in a case related to Aneeta Hada, an authorized signatory of M/S Intel Travels Ltd, who had challenged the summons issued to her by a magistrate on a complaint filed by M/S Godfather Travels and Tours Pvt Ltd.

According to the complainant, Hada on January 17, 2001, had issued a cheque for Rs 5.10 lakh, but it bounced. Following this, Godfather Travels proceeded against Hada under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act.

But Hada challenged the summons on grounds that she was a mere signatory to the cheque. The high court rejected her plea upon which she appealed in the SC. AGENCIES