M.C. Mehta v Union of India (Oleum Gas Leak Case)

The Oleum Gas Leak Case, commonly referred to as the M.C. Mehta v Union of India (1987) case, was a seminal case in the Indian environmental law. The case was as a result of the oleum gas leak in the year 1985, at Shriram Food and Fertilizers Industries, Delhi that had serious repercussions on the surrounding people and led to the death of one person. After the occurrence, M.C. Mehta, an environmental activist, entered into a Public Interest Litigation under Article 32 in the Supreme Court to hold responsible those hazardous industries that operated in populated places. The main question on which the Court was trying to act was whether the industry companies, which were involved in the activity which was considered as hazardous, could avoid responsibility by saying that they did not act negligently. The Supreme Court made an extension of the ancient rule of strict liability as in Rylands v Fletcher and the doctrine of absolute liability. It believed that firms involved in risky undertakings are always held liable to any damage they cause even without exception of act of God or third party misconduct. Another area that the Court broadened the scope of Article 21 is that the right to life also covers the right to live in a safe and pollution-free atmosphere. This ruling had a lot of impact on protecting the environment and achieved more industrial responsibility in India.