Dow counsel challenges holding gas case hearing at Bhopal court
Bhopal: Senior Counsel for Dow Chemical, appearing for the US chemical giant in a city court, contended that since the prosecution agency in the gas disaster criminal case is the CBI, the hearing should be held at the CBI magistrate's court in Indore and not the
JMFC court
in city.
He appeared during arguments on an application challenging the jurisdiction of a Bhopal court or any court in India to hold a trial on a US-based company. The case is being heard in the court of JMFC (Judicial Magistrate of First Class) Hemlata Ahirwar in Bhopal.
The CBI counsel, Manful Bishnoi, however, argued that the JMFC court in Bhopal has complete jurisdiction to hear the case, and it's the court in Bhopal that has been hearing the
Bhopal gas disaster
criminal case since 1992.
He further stated that a competent court at the place where the crime took place always has the jurisdiction to hear the case, even if the CBI investigates the case and files the charge sheet.
During the hearing of the Bhopal gas disaster criminal case in the court of the chief judicial magistrate (CJM), the Bhopal Group for Information & Action (BGIA) moved an application seeking to make Dow Chemical a party in the case, as it bought over
Union Carbide Corporation
(UCC) in 2000, which was a proclaimed offender in the gas disaster criminal case.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Giao dịch Bitcoin và Ethereum - Không cần ví!
IC Markets
BẮT ĐẦU NGAY
Undo
The court of CJM and later JMFC courts issued notices to Dow Chemical to appear in court, but it was only after seven summonses were issued to the company, the last of which was served on the company's headquarters in the US, that advocates representing the company appeared in court.
They clarified that the company doesn't find a court in Bhopal or anywhere else in India to hold a trial or any legal proceeding against the US-based company.
In Oct 2023, advocates for Dow Chemical appeared in the court at Bhopal and raised the issue of jurisdiction.
Since then, the point of contention was if the court in Bhopal has jurisdiction. But on Tuesday, lawyers representing Dow changed tack and argued that the JMFC court in Bhopal doesn't have the jurisdiction to hear the case where the CBI is the prosecution agency.
The JMFC court, after hearing arguments from all sides, deferred the hearing.
BGIA co-convener Rachna Dhingra, after the hearing, said that advocates for Dow Chemical have deliberately raised the issue of transferring the case to the CBI court in Indore as a tactic to buy time, as the court in the previous hearing asked them to present the 'integration plan' of Union Carbide with Dow Chemical. "The case was transferred to the JMFC court by the CJM, Bhopal, and the CBI counsel says that the case could very well be heard here, but advocates for Dow Chemical are trying to delay proceedings in the court, and we are sure the judge understands it," Dhingra said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
25 minutes ago
- Time of India
US Stock markets today: Wall Street futures inched up before opening bell, US-China trade talks enter 2nd day
Investors are watching China-US trade talks in London that could have a huge impact on the global economy as early trading on Wall Street was mostly flat. Futures for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq each inched up 0.1% before the bell Tuesday, while futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were essentially flat. A second day of talks was planned after US and Chinese officials met in London on Monday for negotiations over various issues, AP reported. The hope is that they can eventually reach a deal to reduce painfully high tariffs. Most of the tariff hikes imposed since US President Donald Trump escalated his trade war are paused to allow trade in everything from tiny tech gadgets to enormous machinery to continue. The S&P 500 has rallied after dropping roughly 20% from its record two months ago when Trump shocked financial markets with wide-ranging tariff threats during what he called 'Liberation Day.' Still, confusion over the potential ramifications of Trump's sweeping tariff threats have caused a host of companies to lower or altogether pull their financial guidance. That trend continued Tuesday with Designer Brands, the owner of DSW retail shoe outlets. CEO Doug Howe blamed the company's slow start to the year on an 'unpredictable macro environment and deteriorating consumer sentiment.' Designer Brands shares fell nearly 7.5% before the bell Tuesday after the company — which also owns the Keds and Hush Puppies brands — posted a much wider loss than analysts were expecting. Tesla rose early Tuesday, a day after it recovered a decent chunk of its sharp, recent drop. The electric vehicle company tumbled last week as Elon Musk's relationship with Trump imploded, but shares were up 2.3% in premarket after climbing 4.6% Monday. McDonalds dipped 1.4% after its stock was downgraded by Morgan Stanley, which cited 'structural pressures' on the fast food sector, most notably cash-strapped lower income consumers. In Europe at midday, Germany's DAX lost 0.3%, Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.5% and the CAC 40 in Paris was unchanged. In Asian trading, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 0.3% to 38,211.51, yielding most of its earlier gains, while the Kospi in South Korea rose 0.6% to 2,871.85. Hong Kong's Hang Seng reversed an early advance, slipping 0.1% to 24,162.87. The Shanghai Composite index dropped 0.4% to 3,384.82. There was no fresh news on the US-China trade talks, but investors appeared to grow more nervous as the day wore on. 'Chinese stocks did what they often do when geopolitics starts tightening the noose — they flinched. What began as a calm morning session flipped into a jittery sell-off as traders returned from lunch with a different mood," Stephen Innes of SPI Asset Management said in a commentary. In Taiwan, the Taiex surged 2.1%. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.8% to 8,587.20. India's Sensex was nearly unchanged. US benchmark crude oil picked up 37 cents to $65.66 per barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, was up 36 cents at $67.40. The dollar fell to 144.53 Japanese yen from 144.61 yen. The euro ticked up to $1.1430 from $1.1421. In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury eased to 4.45% from 4.48% late Monday. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
NDTV
29 minutes ago
- NDTV
NDTV Ground Report: The Spot Where Raja Raghuvanshi Was Thrown Into Gorge
New Delhi: Three men, and possibly a woman, stood overlooking a steep gorge near the Wei Sawdong Falls in Meghalaya 's East Khasi Hills on the afternoon of May 23. They were not admiring the view, though it is spectacular. They had just murdered Raja Raghuvanshi and were dumping his body. Raghuvanshi, 30, was found at the bottom of that gorge on June 2, his body hacked into and his death the result, the police believe, of a nefarious scheme allegedly hatched by his wife (of less than a fortnight) Sonam Raghuvanshi and her lover, Raj Kushwaha, with help from three 'contract killers'. All five - details of whose plotting include a clandestine meet at a cafe, one-way tickets to Meghalaya, and the purchase of an axe (the murder weapon) online - have been arrested. NDTV visited the waterfall viewpoint to understand what transpired at 'Land's End', such as it was for Raja Raghuvanshi, and was given a firsthand lesson in why recovering the Madhya Pradesh-based businessman's body was so difficult, even when the cops knew where to look. Thirty seconds was all Nature needed to cover the gorge in mist, making it impossible to see into the valley or across it, to the mountains on the other side, and rising to cover even the cliff edge. In fact, were it not for a waist-high metal barrier around the edge, unwary souls might take a step too far off the cliff and plummet to a rocky doom, falling maybe a thousand feet. The deep gorge, changeable weather, and the remote location all conspired to make the police's job very difficult indeed; drones, in fact, were sent into the gorge to find Raghuvanshi's body. And, as if to illustrate that point, the weather changed again while NDTV was at the spot, the mist rolling back partially to reveal the foliage lining the gorge while still hiding most of the drop. And these reasons fed into the killers' selection of this spot, the police have indicated, for their dastardly deed. The cops believe it was here, or somewhere nearby, that Raja was murdered. The logic is quite unescapable; it would have been impossible, dangerous even, for the killers to be spotted carrying Raghuvanshi's body to the dumping site if he had been killed elsewhere. And, as NDTV retraced his footsteps on his final day, it soon became quite apparent the murder was pre-meditated, for the trekking route they were on was a less-travelled road, meaning there were fewer chances his death or his killers would be seen. What Happened In Meghalaya? On May 20, Raja and Sonam left for their honeymoon in Meghalaya. They had a one-way ticket only. The three 'killers' followed them on their journey, dispatched to Guwahati first by Raj Kushwaha to buy the axe and then to Shillong, where they stayed at a hotel near the couple's homestay. The picture of honeymoon bliss, Raja and Sonam visited tourist hotspots in the beautiful northeastern state over the next two days, including the 'living roots' bridge in Nongriat. A dazed Sonam Raghuvanshi surfaced in UP on June 8, two weeks later. They were seen on the morning of May 23 by a local guide, Albert Pde. That was at 10 am. That was the last time Raja Raghuvanshi was seen alive. Pde's sighting was critical, since he told the police he saw Raja and Sonam, and three other men, who were speaking in Hindi. The three men Pde saw were most likely the killers. What happened between then and June 2, when the body was found, is still unclear, although sources close to the investigation have offered NDTV some details, including Raj Kushwaha's alleged role in orchestrating the murder and Sonam's "kill him" signal to the murderers. What happened after June 2 is unclear also. Sonam disappeared. There are reports that she was spotted in Indore after her husband's death, possibly to meet with her lover, who had stayed away from the northeast, but there is no confirmation of this. What we do know is that Sonam Raghuvanshi surfaced in UP on June 8.
Mint
41 minutes ago
- Mint
Who is Nicole Daedone, the woman accused of forcing employees into sexual acts?
The founder of sexual wellness company, OneTaste Inc., and its former sales head have been convicted of forced labour charges by a Brooklyn court. The California-based company promoted 'orgasmic meditation', or 'OM', which was carried out by men manually stimulating women in a group setting. Following a five-week trial, the court on Monday found Nicole Daedone, 57, founder of OneTaste, and Rachel Cherwitz, 44, the former sales director, guilty after deliberating for less than two days, reports said. The two accused could face up to 20 years in prison. During the case hearing, prosecutors argued that Nicole and Rachel ran a years-long scheme that groomed adherents, many of them victims of sexual trauma, to do their bidding. The two women used economic, sexual and psychological abuse, intimidation and indoctrination to force OneTaste members into sexual acts such as having sex with prospective investors or clients. Assistant US Attorney Nina Gupta, in her closing statement last week, said the defendants 'built a business on the backs' of victims who 'gave everything' to them, including 'their money, their time, their bodies, their dignity, and ultimately their sanity.' 'The jury's verdict has unmasked Daedone and Cherwitz for who they truly are: grifters who preyed on vulnerable victims by making empty promises of sexual empowerment and wellness only to manipulate them into performing labor and services for the defendants' benefit,' said Joseph Nocella, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Nicole Daedone of New York co-founded OneTaste in San Francisco in 2004 as a sort of self-help commune that viewed female orgasms as key to sexual and psychological wellness and interpersonal connection. Portrayed as a cutting-edge enterprise that prioritised women's sexual pleasure, the sexual wellness company generated revenue by providing courses, coaching, OM events, and other sexual practices for a fee. OneTaste enjoyed glowing media coverage in the 2010s and quickly opened centres from Los Angeles to London. Nicole sold her stake in OneTaste in 2017 for $12 million, a year before the company's marketing and labour practices were criticised. OneTaste's current owners, who have rebranded it as the Institute of OM Foundation, said its work has been misconstrued, and the charges against its former executives were unjustified. They also said sexual consent has always been a cornerstone of the organisation.
