The CBI on Tuesday moved a Delhi court for extradition of former Union Carbide Corporation Chairman Warren M Anderson saying that it would be a travesty of justice if he is not put to trial for his alleged role in the 1984 Bhopal gas leakage tragedy.

"He is criminally liable to stand trial in India. It would be a travesty and miscarriage of justice if he is not brought before the court of law in India to face trial," said CBI in its 33-page application to Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Vinod Yadav for obtaining a Letter Rogatory from the court to the US authorities for Anderson's extradition.

"Anderson is liable to be prosecuted on extradition to India for offence under section 304 IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and/or for the offences punishable with lesser punishment on the facts aforesaid," said the CBI.

"The offence is quite similar to the offence of man slaughter recognised as murder of second degree under the US law," said the CBI. It added that in the Bhopal gas leakage tragedy "on the night of December 2-3, 1984, over 15,000 persons had died and over five lakh persons were injured or permanently disabled. In addition, several thousand animals were also killed."

The CBI sought Anderson's extradition contending that as the chief of multinational firm, he was aware of the Bhopal plant's structural defect, but ignored it in order to cut cost on its maintenance.

"Anderson had full knowledge about defective design and structure of the Plant at Bhopal and danger of the leakage of the gas. Methyl Iso Cynate (MIC)-based plant at Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL), Bhopal was designed, commissioned and made operational by Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), USA through its own employees. UCIL, Bhopal relied on technology, maintenance, safety know-how and supervision provided by the principal company i.e. UCC, USA," the CBI said.

"Anderson in the capacity of being the UCC chairman, was aware of better safety technology and standards available in the UCC Plant in West Virginia, USA and yet he did not ensure safety measures of same standard at UCIL, Bhopal," the CBI added.

The CMM decided to hear the CBI plea for Anderson's extradition on Wednesday.

Anderson, 90, never faced trial for his role in triggering the world's worst Industrial disaster over 26 years ago and was declared a proclaimed offender by the court of Bhopal chief judicial magistrate in 1992 after he jumped bail, which he had secured on December 7, 1984 following his arrest for his role in the tragedy.

The CBI's plea to the Delhi court for issuing Letter Rogatory for Anderson's extradition from the US has come in the wake of Attorney General Goolam E Vahanvati's submission to the apex court last month that if needed, the government may initiate fresh steps to seek his extradition.

India had earlier approached the US for Anderson's extradition in 2003, but the US had rejected the plea in 2004 saying that the provisions of the bilateral extradition treaty between them do not allow his extradition.

The issue of Anderson's extradition had cropped up again after a Bhopal court on June 7 last year convicted Union Carbide India Limited Chairman Keshub Mahindra and six other UCIL employees posted at the multinational's plant at Bhopal and awarded them two year's jail term each.

The meagre punishment for an offence, which had killed over 15,000 people and maimed tens of thousands others, evoked a widespread outrage, prompting Indian government to form a ministerial panel to go into the issue.

As per the ministerial panel's recommendations, the government decided to seek fresh trial of all the seven surviving accused of the Bhopal gas tragedy on stringent charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, which entails a jail term up to 10 years as punishment.

Accordingly, the government in an extraordinary step, moved the apex court with a curative petition to seek review of its September 13, 1996 judgement, which had ordered the trial of the accused on milder charges of causing death due to rash and negligent act, which entails a maximum two year jail term.

The apex court had given its ruling, setting aside the lower court's order to put Mahindra and others on trial on the stringent charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The apex court had set aside the trial court order, which had been endorsed even by the Madhya Pradesh High Court.

The CBI in its application emphasised that it is seeking Anderson's extradition under stringent penal provision of section 304 IPC.

Pointing out that Anderson's trial was seperated from those of other accused persons in the case, the CBI said, "Since Anderson did not appear before the court, the cognisance taken against him under section 304/326, 324 and 429 read with 35 of the IPC still stands."

It added that the apex court's September 13, 1996 order, which had ordered the trial of the accused on milder charges of 304 A (causing death due to rash and negligent act) "does not come in the way of" Anderson's prosecution under stringent charges.