A Review of the Case of M C Mehta and Ors v. Union of India, AIR 1987 SC 1086

Abstract

The case of M.C. Mehta and Ors. v. Union of India (AIR 1987 SC 1086), commonly known as the Oleum Gas Leak Case, is a landmark judgment in Indian environmental jurisprudence that established the principle of absolute liability for hazardous industries. The case arose from an oleum gas leak in December 1985 at the Shriram Foods & Fertilizer Industries, a subsidiary of Delhi Cloth Mills Ltd., located in a densely populated area of Delhi. The leak caused severe harm to the public and workers, including the death of an advocate, and created widespread panic, particularly in the wake of the devastating Bhopal Gas Tragedy the previous year. Environmental lawyer M.C. Mehta filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) under Article 32 of the Constitution, seeking the plant's closure and compensation for the victims The Supreme Court delivered a transformative judgment, laying down the principles of absolute liability, expand the ambit of interpretation of Article 21, expand the ambit of PIL and expand the amount of compensation depending upon the gravity of the injury. This paper review the judgment in the light of the present scenario.