Campaign For Torts! #2

An editorial in the ToI of today titled "Red Herring" echoes my view that calling for the extradition of Warren Anderson is just bull. The victims must be compensated and we need "strict laws," the editors conclude. But what are these strict laws? After all, the pig-sty is about to pass the Nuclear Civil Liability Bill that is patently "un-strict."

There is also a news story in the same paper that says the government must compensate the victims. Now, that means tax payers must pay for the crimes of private companies. The same clause applies to nuclear liability too. Why should the taxpayer pay?

There is NO ALTERNATIVE before India than a return to all the just principles of "private law": Property, Contracts and Torts. There are many fighting for Property today. I suggest that, given the current environment, more fight for Torts.

So I am once agin using the powerful illustration by Jayachandran of Mint. It shows Justice lying dead in her coffin. On the top of the coffin are inscribed the words: "Bhopal / Last Victim / 1984 - 2010." This illustration tells us what volumes of words could not express. Indeed, Justice is Dead - and the CONgress are set to bury her with the Nuclear Civil Liability Bill. If we want true Justice, we must clamour for protection under Torts. There is no other way.

To see this illustration in the paper, click here.

To know more about Torts, click here for the Wikipedia entry.