Dow Chemical Objects to CBI's Arguments on Bhopal Trial Jurisdiction

The Dow Chemical Company objected during a Bhopal District Court hearing on Thursday after the CBI argued that the trial must proceed in Bhopal, where the 1984 Union Carbide gas disaster occurred. Summons on Dow Chemical were served through India's Ministry of Home Affairs and the US Department of Justice, with the latter raising no jurisdiction objection.

The court heard arguments on whether Indian courts have jurisdiction over Dow Chemical or whether the question even arises, given that Dow Chemical is the successor company to Union Carbide Corporation and the Madhya Pradesh High Court has already ruled on this matter. Senior advocate Avi Singh, representing the Bhopal Group for Information and Action, argued that Dow Chemical should be directed to produce documents proving or disproving its merger and corporate integration with Union Carbide.