Cases / Waste management · India · 1989–2025
Supreme Court dismisses Centre's bid for more Bhopal compensation from Union Carbide
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
The Supreme Court of India dismissed the Centre's 2023 bid for more compensation from Union Carbide. The 1989 settlement did not cover groundwater, and the state paid to burn the Bhopal waste in 2025.
What?
The Supreme Court of India dismissed the Centre's 2023 bid for more compensation from Union Carbide for the Bhopal gas disaster LiveLaw
Where?
Bhopal, India LiveLaw
When?
1989 settlement; Supreme Court dismissal reported 14 March 2023 LiveLaw
Who?
Gained
- Ramky Group — Received 126 crore rupees to destroy 336 tonnes of Bhopal waste (2025) The Hitavada
Lost
- State budget — Paid 126 crore rupees for the waste incineration The Hitavada
Harmed
- Bhopal gas disaster victims — 5,295 deaths and 527,894 injuries, per government figures cited by LiveLaw LiveLaw
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Waste was burned with state budget money paid to a contractor The Hitavada
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
LiveLaw reported on 14 March 2023 that the Supreme Court dismissed the Centre's curative petition seeking more compensation from Union Carbide.
Government figures cited by LiveLaw put deaths at 5,295 and injuries at 527,894 in the Bhopal gas tragedy.
The Hitavada reported in January 2025 that the government paid the Ramky Group 126 crore rupees to destroy 336 tonnes of Bhopal waste.
The Hitavada reported in July 2025 that the waste was fully incinerated and that the 1989 settlement of $470 million did not cover groundwater.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2023DismissedCentre's curative petition on Bhopal compensationSupreme Court of India · Civil · Government of India (Centre) → Union Carbide Corporation
Curative petition seeking additional compensation dismissed; reported by LiveLaw on 14 March 2023. LiveLaw
- 1996Outcome not on recordBichhri caseNot stated in the sources reviewed · Civil · Not stated in the sources reviewed → Not stated in the sources reviewed
Plants were closed in 1996. The defendants are reported to have prolonged the case by 15 years.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Court
- Unclear Bichhri case: outcome not on record.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: a sabotage explanation for the Bhopal disaster.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: a 1996 decision downgrading the charge to negligence.
- None on record Reported without a link: compensation was calculated on 3,000 deaths, and later estimates exceed 23,000.
- None on record The share of the 126 crore rupees that reached Re Sustainability is not known, and no Dow contribution is documented.
- None on record No public insurer dispute was found for the Bhopal settlement.
- None on record Reported without a link: KKR's ownership of Re Sustainability/Ramky.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Finally, toxic waste from Bhopal plant completely incineratedThe Hitavada · 2025-07-01
- Why Govt paid Rs 126 crore to Ramky Group for destroying 336 tones of toxic wasteThe Hitavada · 2025-01-04
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
- Indian government paid Rs 126 crore to incinerate Union Carbide Bhopal waste India · 2025
- Union Carbide (Company) — here: Company whose 1989 settlement is the subject; defendant in the curative petition; there: Origin of the waste (Bhopal plant)
- Ramky Group (Company) — here: Contractor paid to destroy the waste; there: Paid to incinerate the waste
- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid the incineration cost; petitioner for more compensation; there: Paid for the incineration from the state budget
- India's top court refuses more Bhopal compensation from Union Carbide successors India · 1989–2025
- Union Carbide (Company) — here: Company whose 1989 settlement is the subject; defendant in the curative petition; there: company that paid the 1989 settlement; subject of the 2023 petition
- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid the incineration cost; petitioner for more compensation; there: filed the curative petition; paid for the waste incineration
- IFFCO sells nano urea under a fertiliser subsidy; a Punjab trial reported lower yields India · 2021–2026
- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid the incineration cost; petitioner for more compensation; there: fertiliser subsidy payer
- India approved clearing over 8,500 hectares of forest despite a Supreme Court order India · 2025
- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid the incineration cost; petitioner for more compensation; there: Gave the nod to clear over 8,500 hectares
- India PMFBY crop insurance India · 2016
- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid the incineration cost; petitioner for more compensation; there: Pays the premium share not paid by farmers; presented the scheme's figures
- India's 1975–77 Emergency sterilisation drive drew a $66 million World Bank loan India · 1975–1977
- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid the incineration cost; petitioner for more compensation; there: Ran the sterilisation campaign
- India's scrap tyre imports reach 1.398 million tonnes in FY2024 India · 2021–2024
- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid the incineration cost; petitioner for more compensation; there: Source of the import data cited in the report
- Indus Waters Treaty suspension India / Pakistan · 2025
- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid the incineration cost; petitioner for more compensation; there: Suspended the treaty
- Kerala endosulfan compensation delayed as producer's Shroff family sells stake India · 2011–2026
- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid the incineration cost; petitioner for more compensation; there: Objected to listing endosulfan under the Stockholm Convention
- Union Carbide asbestos insurance case United States · 2012
- Union Carbide (Company) — here: Company whose 1989 settlement is the subject; defendant in the curative petition; there: Policyholder facing asbestos bodily-injury claims
- World Bank-backed dams displaced people, and reviews found incomes often not restored Global · 1985–2018
- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid the incineration cost; petitioner for more compensation; there: Host government for the Sardar Sarovar dam