New Delhi: Former Union Carbide chairman Keshub Mahindra, a convict in the Bhopal gas tragedy, has been granted bail by a local court hearing the petition challenging the trial court's verdict awarding two-year jail to seven Union Carbide executives including Mahindra.
Mahindra has been given bail on a bond of Rs 7 lakh and has been told not to leave the country without the court's permission.
District and Sessions Court Judge Subhash Kakde was hearing the plea.
Chief Judicial Magistrate Mohan P Tiwari had on June 7 awarded sentences against former Keshub Mahindra, former Managing Director Vijay Gokhale, former Vice President Kishore Kamdar, former Works Manager J Mukund, former Production Manager S P Choudhary, former Plant Superintendent K V Shetty and former Operator SI Qureshi.
They were awarded two-year imprisonment under relevant sections of IPC.
The court on Wednesday had adjourned the hearing on the petition on Wednesday.
Earlier, Mahindra's counsel Amit Desai told the court that his client should be granted bail from the appellate court, as it was mandatory before their appeal against Chief Judicial Magistrate's verdict was entertained.
He said district and session court was empowered to grant bail under Section 389 (suspension of sentence pending the appeal release of appellant on bail) accusation of CrPC.
The then Chief Judicial Magistrate Mohan P Tiwari after convicting the UCIL executives, had given them bails on June 7. However, the prosecuting agency CBI's counsel Hemant Shukla opposed the bail.
Desai contended that his client is 86-year-old and had undergone by-pass surgery twice.
He said Mahindra had regularly been present during the trial of Bhopal gas tragedy case in CJM's court. Desai said that Mahindra was the chairman of the UCIL when the Bhopal gas tragedy took place, and was not directly involved in the day-to-day work of the now defunct Union Carbide Factory in Bhopal. Thus, he should be granted bail, he said.
(With inputs from PTI)
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