Supreme Court asks NGO to voice concerns about mercury seepage from Bhopal gas tragedy waste’s residual ash before Madhya Pradesh High Court

The Supreme Court asked the Bhopal Gas Peedith Sangharsh Sahyog Samiti to approach the Madhya Pradesh High Court with their concerns about the whereabouts of high quantities of mercury, which was part of the 337 metric tons of toxic waste.

The hazardous waste was the fall-out of one of the biggest industrial disasters globally after methyl isocyanate gas leaked out of the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) plant site in December 1984. The gas leak claimed over 5400 lives.

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The waste had been lying buried near the plant site for over 40 years until the High Court ordered its transfer and incineration at a facility in Pithampur in the State.

Appearing before a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, the NGO, represented by senior advocate Anand Grover and advocate Anuj Kapoor, urged the apex court on Monday (March 16, 2026) to check the filter bags and buried residual ash from the incineration of the waste to check the mercury content.

The NGO referred to studies conducted by Professor Asif Qureshi of IIT Hyderabad belying claims by the authorities that mercury content has drastically reduced following incineration.

The petitioner argued that the mercury content would have either seeped into the ground or released through emissions during the incineration. It submitted that the filter bags, buried underground in boxes with the residual ash, used in the incineration may also be containing mercury. The NGO requested the court to partially open the boxes for testing.

The court voiced skepticism, saying opening the boxes would lead to exposure to toxins.

Mr. Grover pleaded that there was a likelihood of contamination of ground water if the mercury leaks into the soil. Other environmental issues may also be triggered.

The Bench chose not to intervene and asked the petitioner to approach the State High Court, which would expeditiously consider their pleas on merits and pass orders in the larger public interest.

The decision to transfer the waste to Pithampur and dispose it there was based on reports by an expert committee which had comprised Central and State officials, the Director of the National Environment Engineering Institute (NEERI), the Director of the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) and the Chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board.

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However, Mr. Grover, appearing for civil society working with Bhopal gas tragedy victims, had even at that point of time raised concerns that incineration would not completely get rid of the toxic waste.

But the apex court had taken a hands-off approach, maintaining that it was the High Court which had galvanised a “lethargic” State government to act on the toxic waste lying at the Bhopal gas tragedy site.