When Dow Chemicals acquired the Union Carbide in 2006, then Indian ambassador to the US Rosen Sen allegedly assured that the Indian government will not hold Dow Chemicals for the mishap. RTI Research has brought this into light now.
Via Rediff: RTI raises fresh doubts over Bhopal case
Did the Indian government guarantee Dow Chemicals, the parent company of Union Carbide, that it will not be held liable for the Bhopal gas tragedy?
An RTI response has raised fresh questions over the government’s position in the case, as it brought to light a letter written in 2006 by Dow Chemicals CEO Andrew Liveris to the then Indian Ambassador to the US Ronen Sen, claiming that the Indian government had said that his company is not liable for the Bhopal gas tragedy of 1984.
If Liveris is to be believed, the assurance from the Indian government came even when an Indian court was still deliberating on the issue.
A copy of Liveris’ letter dated November 8, 2006, was obtained by US-based Somu Kumar of the International Campaign for Justice for Bhopal under the Right to Information Act from the Indian Embassy in Washington.
A copy of the letter and other documents obtained by Kumar from the Indian Embassy were circulated among the Indian media.
“Given the statements made by the Government of India [ Images ] representatives in front of all meeting attendees that DOW is not responsible for Bhopal and will not be pursued by the GoI, it will be important to follow through to ensure concrete, sustained actions are taken that are consistent with these statements,” Liveris said in his letter to Sen. [Full Article]
The issue is much more complicated. When a company buys another company it assumes everything (liabilities,fixed assets and the revenue). Typically they make exceptions for certain things like pending legal cases. I used to work for a company called Titan Systems which is a defense company doing work for US government. L-3 Communications another big defense contractor acquired Titan. Titan was involved with an infamous incident of Abu Gharib prison in Iraq. Post merger L-3 took responsibility for the crimes and was penalized by US government. However if L-3 made an exception to the case then they are not liable for it.
FWIW , Ronen Sen should have not written the letter to DOW considering the fact that Bhopal gas is a worst industrial disaster till date.