India's Supreme Court rejected an appeal Wednesday to reinstate stronger charges against seven people convicted of negligence in connection with the 1984 toxic gas leak in Bhopal that killed an estimated 15,000 people. The leak at a Union Carbide plant, the world's worst industrial accident, left thousands more with devastating deformities and other health problems.
Survivors of the tragedy say their plight has been long ignored, and nearly three decades later justice has still not been served. In recent years, they have demanded harsher punishments for those responsible, called for the extradition of the former head of Union Carbide from the United States and pushed for far more generous compensation for the victims and their families.
The seven former officials of Union Carbide's Indian subsidiary were initially charged with culpable homicide, but a 1996 Supreme Court ruling reduced the charges. Last year, they were convicted of death by negligence and given the maximum two years in prison, a relatively light sentence that caused a public outcry and prompted the government to appeal.
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