Tragedy Like Bhopal Will Not Be Allowed in Country: Moily

Following GoM recommendations, Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily has siad that a tragedy like Bhopal will not be allowed in the country again, said media reports.

While launching the National Litigation Policy to make government an ‘efficient and a responsible’ litigant, he said that monitoring and review mechanism proposed under the policy would prevent ‘delay or neglect’ of important cases such as the Bhopal gas disaster, reports said.

The minister said that the policy recognized the face that the government and its different agencies were the predominant litigants in courts and tribunals in the country, said reports.

“Its (the policy’s) aim is to transform government into an efficient and a responsible litigant,” he was quoted as saying in a press conference in New Delhi.

He noted that policy took into account the responsibility of the government to safeguards the rights of citizens and to respect fundamental rights and that those in-charge of the conduct of official litigation should never forget this basic principle, reports said.

The minister said that the government, under this policy, would classify and group court cases so that those contesting on behalf of the government could prioritise them, said reports.

“If this is in place, ultimately, constant review, prioritising and categorisation will track everything. Maybe cases like the Bhopal one will not be repeated in this country. That is the target of this (policy),” he was quoted as saying.

Moily also noted that ‘a sensitised and sensitive’ government would represent all these cases so that there was ‘no delay or neglect’ at any stage (in cases like the Bhopal catastrophe), reports said.

(Based on internet reports)