In Brief
The Union of India sought to reopen the 39-year-old Bhopal Gas Leak disaster settlement (US$470 million) through curative petitions filed 19 years after settlement. The Union argued that the settlement was based on incomplete victim data and should be 'topped up' to account for higher actual death and injury figures, plus additional state expenditure on relief. The Court dismissed the petitions, holding that settlements reached after careful judicial consideration possess conclusive finality. The settlement fund proved adequate and was even doubled after pro-rata distribution; remaining deficiencies were the Union's responsibility as a welfare state, not UCC's. No legal principle permits unilateral enhancement of consensual settlements without the other party's consent. Curative petitions lack the procedural compliance required under established jurisprudence.
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