No fault liability , strict liability, absolute liability, oleum gas case, Bhopal gas tragedy

a brief description of no fault liability in environmental laws, along with full description of absolute liability and strict liability, with cases citation, i.e oleum gas case and Bhopal gas tragedy

1. NO FAULT LIABILITY IN ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ACT Bindu Kshtriya M.Pharm (DRA) Dept of Pharmaceutical Sciences, MDU

2. CONTENTS: Introduction Environment protection act, 1986 Objectives No fault liability Strict liability Absolute liability References

3. Environment : "E nvironment" includes water, air and land and the inter- relationship which exists among and between water, air and land, and human beings, other living creatures, plants, micro-organism and property

4. Pollution : "environmental pollution" means the presence in the environment of any environmental pollutant;  "environmental pollutant" means any solid, liquid or gaseous substance present in such concentration as may be, or tend to be, injurious to environment;

5. ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION ACT, 1986 EPA,1986 is the most comprehensive act on the Indian statute book relating to Environment Protection. It is a general legislation for the protection of environment. It was enacted under article 253 of the constitution. The world community’s resolve to protect & enhance the environmental quality found expression in the decisions taken at the United Nation Conference on the Human Environment held in stockholm june, 1972

6. OBJECTIVES To implement the decisions made at the U.N. Conference To enact general law on Environment protection To coordinates activities of the various regulatory agencies To provide deterrent punishment who endanger human environment

7. “Polluters Pay” and “Precautionary Principle”: Indian Council for Enviro - Legal Action v. Union of India, "The Polluter Pays" principle "Once the activity carried on is hazardous or inherently dangerous, the person carrying on such activity is liable to make good the loss caused to any other person by his activity irrespective of the fact whether he took reasonable care while carrying on his activity. The rule is premised upon the very nature of the activity carried on". The "Polluter Pays" principle as interpreted by the Court means that the absolute liability for harm to the environment extends not only to compensate the victims of pollution but also the cost of restoring the environmental degradation.

8. Vellore Citizens Welfare Forum v Union of India "The Precautionary principle” In simple terms mean environmental measures to anticipate, prevent the causes of environmental degradation“. In these two cases court has accepted that the "Polluter Pays" principle and the Precautionary principle are essential features of “Sustainable Development”

9. Corporate Environmental liability No Fault liability Or Rule of Ryland v Fletcher Liability without any fault, to the situations when a person may be liable for some harm even though he is not negligent in causing the same, or there is unintentional harm, or sometimes he may have made some positive efforts to prevent the same, liability in such situation rests on a person engaging in an ultra hazardous activity from which injury to others is likely to result, notwithstanding his reasonable care should pay for the damage..This is the Rule of strict liability or the Rule of Rylandsv Fletcher. However, this rule applies only to non-natural user of land and is subject to some exceptions .

10. STRICT LIABILITY According to this, if a person brings on his land & keeps there any dangerous thing, i.e. a thing which is likely to do mischief if it escapes, he will be prima facie answerable for the damages caused by its escape even though he had not been negligent in keeping it there. Since in such a case the liability arises even without any negligence on the part of the defendant, it is known as the rule of strict liability.

11. 3 ESSENTIALS FOR THE APPLICATION OF THE RULE Some dangerous thing must have been brought by a person on his land The thing thus brought by a person on his land must escape It must be non-natural use of land

12. Exceptions to the rule Plaintiff’s own default Act of god Consent of the plaintiff Act of third party Statutory authority

13. ABSOLUTE LIABILITY In this, an enterprise which is engaged in a hazardous or inherently dangerous activity & harm results to anyone on account of an accident in the operation of such hazardous or inherently dangerous activity resulting, is strictly or absolutely liable to compensate all those who are affected by the accident.

14. In other words, absolute liability is strict liability without any exception. This liability standard has been laid down by the Indian Supreme Court in M.C. Mehta v. Union of India ( Oleum gas leak case)

15. Oleum Gas leak Case M.C. Mehta and Another v. Union of India and others. On the question of liability of an enterprise engaged in hazardous activities, that an enterprise which is engaged in hazardous or inherently dangerous activity and an industry which poses a potential threat to the health and safety of the persons working in the factory and of those residing in the surrounding area owes an absolute and non-delegable duty to the community to ensure that no harm results to any one on account of an hazardous or inherently dangerous nature of the activity which it has undertaken. SC took a bold initiative and evolved the concept of ‘Absolute Liability’

16. BHOPAL GAS CASE On December 2/3, 1984, a mass disaster was caused by the leakage of Methyl Isocyanate & other toxic gases from a plant set up by the Union Carbide India Ltd. for the manufacture of pesticides, etc. in Bhopal. It results in the death of at least 3,000 persons & serious injuries to a very large no. of others.

17. In 1998, the Supreme Court of India reached a settlement with Union Carbide: They had to pay 470 million US Dollars to the Indian State. At that time Union Carbide made a turnover of about 9.5 billion dollars, 20 times that amount. In return, there would be no further prosecution.

18. REFERENCES: En.m.wikipedia.org www.legislation.gov.uk www.bmhrc.org>bhopal gas tragedy Envis.mse.ac.in>OLEUM GAS LEAK CASE