Case: Union Carbide Corporation Vs. Union of India and others

truth, these words mean the same thing to all men whose judgment is uncommitted. Of Truth and Justice, Anatole France said: Truth passes within herself a penetrating force unknown alike to error and falsehood. I say truth and you must understand my meaning. For the beautiful words Truth and Justice need not be defined in order to be understood in their true sense. They bear within them a shining beauty and a heavenly light. I firmly believed in the triumph of truth and justice. That is what upholds me in times of trial. 22. As to the remaining question, it has been said that many vital juristic principles of great contemporary relevance to the Third World generally, and to India in particular, touching problems emerging from the pursuit of such dangerous technologies for economic gains by multinationals arose in this case. It is said that this is an instance of lost opportunity to this apex court to give the law the new direction on vital issues emerging from the increasing dimensions of the economic exploitation of developing countries by economic forces of the rich ones. This case also, it is said, concerns the legal limits to be envisaged, in the vital interest of the protection of the constitutional rights of the citizenry, and of the environment, on the permissibility of such ultra-hazardous technologies and to prescribe absolute and deterrent standards of liability if harm is caused by such enterprises. The prospect of exploitation of cheap labour and of captive markets, it is said, induces multinationals to enter into the developing countries for such economic exploitation and that this was eminently and appropriate case for a careful assessment off the legal and constitutional safeguards stemming from these vital issues of great contemporary relevance. 23. These issues and certain cognate areas of even wider significance and the limits off the adjudicate disposition of some of their aspects are indeed questions of seminal importance. The culture of modern industrial technologies, which is sustained on processes of such pernicious potentialities, in the ultimate analysis, has thrown open vital and fundamental issues of technology options. Associated problems of the adequacy of legal protection against such exploitative and hazardous industrial adventurism, and whether the citizens of the country are assured the protection of a legal system which could be said to be adequate a comprehensive sense in which contexts arise. These, indeed, are issues of vital importance and this tragedy, and the conditions that enabled it happen, are of particular concern. 24. The chemical pesticide industry is a concomitant, and indeed, an integral part, of the Technology of Chemical Farming. Some experts think that it is time to return from the high-risk, resource-intensive, high-input, anti-ecological, monopolistic hard technology which feeds, and is fed on, its self-assertive attribute, to a more human and humane, flexible, eco-conformable, soft technology with its systemic wisdom and opportunities for human creativity and initiative. Wisdom demands says Schumacher a new orientation of science and technology towards the organic, the gentle, the elegant and beautiful. The other view stressing the spectacular success of agricultural production in the new era of chemical framing, with high-yielding strains, points to the breakthrough achieved by the Green Revolution with its effective response to, and successful management of, the great challenges of feeding the millions. This technology in agriculture has given a big impetus to enterprises of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This, say its critics, has brought in its trial its own serious problems. The technology options before scientists and planners have been difficult. Indeed, there is also need to evolve a national policy to protect national interest from such ultra-hazardous pursuits of economic gains. Justice, technologists and other experts in economics, environmentology, futurology, sociology and public health etc. should identify areas of common concern and help in evolving proper criteria which may receive judicial recognition and legal sanction. 25. One aspect of this matter was dealt with by this Court in M. C. Mehta v. Union of India (Union Carbide Corpn. v. Union of India, (1989) 1 SCC 674 : SCC 674 : 1989 SCC (Cri) 243 ) which marked a significant stage in the development of the law. But, at the hearing there was more than a mere hint in the submissions of the Union Carbide that in this case the law was altered with only the Union Carbide Corporation in mind, and was altered to its disadvantage even before the case had reached this Court. The criticism of the Mehta principles, perhaps, ignores the emerging postulates of tortious liability whose principal focus is the social limits on economic adventurism. There are certain things that a civilised society simply cannot permit to be done to its members, even if they are compensated for their resulting losses. We may note a passage in Theories of Compensation (R. E. Goodin, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 1989, p. 57). It would, however, be wrong to presume that we as a society can do anything we like to people, just so long as we compensate them for their losses. Such a proposition would mistake part of the policy universe for the whole. The set of policies to which it points - policies that are permissible, but only with compensation - is bounded on the one side by a set of policies that are permissible, even without compensation and on the other side by a set of policies that are impermissible, even with compensation. 26. But, in the present case, the compulsions of the need for immediate relief to tens of thousands of suffering victims could not, in our opinion, wait till these questions, vital though they be, are resolved in the due course of judicial proceedings. The tremendous suffering of thousands of persons compelled us to move into the direction of immediate relied which, we though, should not be subordinated to the uncertain promises of the law, and when the assessment of fairness of the amount was based on certain factors and assumptions not disputed even by the plaintiff. 27.

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 1

Explanation:
1[ds]The court also took into consideration the general run of damages in comparable accident claim cases and in cases under workmens compensation laws. The broad allocations made are higher than those awarded or awardable in such claims. These apportionments are merely broad considerations generally guiding the idea of reasonableness of the overall basis of settlement. This exercise is not a pre-determination of the quantum of compensation amongst the claimants either individually or categorywise. No individual claimant shall be entitled to claim a particular quantum of compensation even if his case is found to fall within any of the broad categories indicated above. The determination of the actual quantum of compensation payable to the claimants has to be done by the authorities under the Act, on the basis of the facts of each case and without reference to the hypothetical quantifications made only for purpose of an overall view of the adequacy of the amountThese are the broad and general assumptions underlying the concept of justness of the determination of the quantum. If the total number of cases of death or of permanent, total or partial, disabilities or of what may be called catastrophic injuries is shown to be so large that the basic assumptions underlying the settlement become wholly unrelated to the realities, the element of justness of the determination and of truth of its factual foundation would seriously be impaired. The justness of the settlement is based on these assumptions of truth. Indeed, there might be different opinions on the interpretation of laws or on questions of policy or even on what may be considered wise or unwise; but when one speaks of justice and truth, these words mean the same thing to all men whose judgment is uncommitted. Of Truth and Justice, Anatole France saidTruth passes within herself a penetrating force unknown alike to error and falsehood. I say truth and you must understand my meaning. For the beautiful words Truth and Justice need not be defined in order to be understood in their true sense. They bear within them a shining beauty and a heavenly light. I firmly believed in the triumph of truth and justice. That is what upholds me in times of trialAs to the remaining question, it has been said that many vital juristic principles of great contemporary relevance to the Third World generally, and to India in particular, touching problems emerging from the pursuit of such dangerous technologies for economic gains by multinationals arose in this case. It is said that this is an instance of lost opportunity to this apex court to give the law the new direction on vital issues emerging from the increasing dimensions of the economic exploitation of developing countries by economic forces of the rich ones. This case also, it is said, concerns the legal limits to be envisaged, in the vital interest of the protection of the constitutional rights of the citizenry, and of the environment, on the permissibility of such ultra-hazardous technologies and to prescribe absolute and deterrent standards of liability if harm is caused by such enterprises. The prospect of exploitation of cheap labour and of captive markets, it is said, induces multinationals to enter into the developing countries for such economic exploitation and that this was eminently and appropriate case for a careful assessment off the legal and constitutional safeguards stemming from these vital issues of great contemporary relevanceThese issues and certain cognate areas of even wider significance and the limits off the adjudicate disposition of some of their aspects are indeed questions of seminal importance. The culture of modern industrial technologies, which is sustained on processes of such pernicious potentialities, in the ultimate analysis, has thrown open vital and fundamental issues of technology options. Associated problems of the adequacy of legal protection against such exploitative and hazardous industrial adventurism, and whether the citizens of the country are assured the protection of a legal system which could be said to be adequate a comprehensive sense in which contexts arise. These, indeed, are issues of vital importance and this tragedy, and the conditions that enabled it happen, are of particular concernThe chemical pesticide industry is a concomitant, and indeed, an integral part, of the Technology of Chemical Farming. Some experts think that it is time to return from the high-risk, resource-intensive, high-input, anti-ecological, monopolistic hard technology which feeds, and is fed on, its self-assertive attribute, to a more human and humane, flexible, eco-conformable,technology with its systemic wisdom and opportunities for human creativity and initiative.a new orientation of science and technology towards the organic, the gentle, the elegant and. The other view stressing the spectacular success of agricultural production in the new era of chemical framing, with high-yielding strains, points to the breakthrough achieved by the Green Revolution with its effective response to, and successful management of, the great challenges of feeding the millions. This technology in agriculture has given a big impetus to enterprises of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. This, say its critics, has brought in its trial its own serious problems. The technology options before scientists and planners have been difficultIndeed, there is also need to evolve a national policy to protect national interest from such ultra-hazardous pursuits of economic gains. Justice, technologists and other experts in economics, environmentology, futurology, sociology and public health etc. should identify areas of common concern and help in evolving proper criteria which may receive judicial recognition and legal sanctionOne aspect of this matter was dealt with by this Court in M. C. Mehta v. Union of India (Union Carbide Corpn. v. Union of India, (1989) 1 SCC 674 : SCC 674 : 1989 SCC (Cri) 243 ) which marked a significant stage in the development of the law. But, at the hearing there was more than a mere hint in the submissions of the Union Carbide that in this case the law was altered with only the Union Carbide Corporation in mind, and was altered to its disadvantage even before the case had reached this Court. The criticism of the Mehta principles, perhaps, ignores the emerging postulates of tortious liability whose principal focus is the social limits on economic adventurism. There are certain things that a civilised society simply cannot permit to be done to its members, even if they are compensated for their resulting losses. We may note a passage in(R. E. Goodin, Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 1989, p. 57)It would, however, be wrong to presume that we as a society can do anything we like to people, just so long as we compensate them for their losses. Such a proposition would mistake part of the policy universe for the whole. The set of policies to which it points - policies that are permissible, but only with compensation - is bounded on the one side by a set of policies that are permissible, even without compensation and on the other side by a set of policies that are impermissible, even with compensationBut, in the present case, the compulsions of the need for immediate relief to tens of thousands of suffering victims could not, in our opinion, wait till these questions, vital though they be, are resolved in the due course of judicial proceedings. The tremendous suffering of thousands of persons compelled us to move into the direction of immediate relied which, we though, should not be subordinated to the uncertain promises of the law, and when the assessment of fairness of the amount was based on certain factors and assumptions not disputed even by the plaintiff