Tracing The Evolution Of The Doctrine Of Absolute Liability Through The Bhopal And Oleum Gas Leak Tragedies
- IJLLR Journal
- Apr 28
- 2 min read
Aditi Mishra, School of Law, Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai
Dr. Arun D Raj, Assistant Professor, School of Law, Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai
ABSTRACT
Certain unexpected turns of events such as the Bhopal Gas Tragedy (1984) and the Oleum Gas Leak (1986) made India’s environmental liability law a weaker link in environmental protection. As a result of these tragic events, the policy-making body of the Indian judiciary felt prompted to put forward the concept of absolute liability, which is a more severe standard than that of the traditional rule of strict liability. The current study rests on a doctrinal and analytical methodology, which consists in the analysis of key cases, the examination of environmental statutes, and a critical and wide-ranging review of existing scholarly literature. It identifies the path that led to the establishment and application of absolute liability in India. Moreover, through the comparison of India’s and the world’s liability frameworks like CERCLA, and the EU Environmental Liability Directive, the research aims at evaluating the effective aspects and the weaknesses. The results of the research indicate that the notion of absolute liability has institutionalized the potential for the judiciary to create environmental protection laws, for example, like the Environmental Protection Act, 1986, but its usage in real life scenarios is still not consistently done. The long process of justice, the lag in regulatory execution, and the shift in industrial risks are the factors which prevent this principle from realizing its potential. The main idea of the work sums up that though common liability remains an essential legal instrument, it still needs legislative support and institutional reinforcement if it wants to serve as a solid basis for the legal and social demands that the industry and the environment make.
Keywords: Absolute Liability; Judicial Activism; Public Liability; Strict Liability; Sustainable Development
