ON COLLECTIVE AND INDIVIDUAL VICTIMS OF ABUSE OF POWER

- I. Mallikarjuna Sharma.

A n! "#$ %& "hinkin' i( ((n"ial i& mankin) i( "% (ur*i* an) m%* "%!ar)
hi'hr l*l(. - Albert Einstein.
+If the hope of the world lies in human consciousness, then it is obvious that
intellectuals cannot go on forever avoiding their large share of responsibility for
the world, and hiding their distaste for politics under an alleged need to be
objective. The intellectual should constantly disturb, should bear witness to the
misery of the world, should be provocative by being independent, should rebel
against all hidden manipulations, and should be the chief doubters of power and
its incantations., - V-.la* /a*l.

+0i" i(n1" a ma""r %& !h"hr ! ar m%r (.in"i("( %r m%r humani("(2

h%$&ull# ! !ill 3 (%m .%m3ina"i%n %& 3%"h. 0 An) i" i( n%" a ma""r %&
!h"hr (.in. i( in&lun.) 3# $%li"i.( 04 %r !h"hr ! !ill in*i"a3l# mak
$%li"i.al .h%i.( in %ur !%rk. Ra"hr4 i" i( a ma""r %& makin' "h ri'h" .h%i.(.
Th $r%3lm i( n%" %n %& *i."im%l%'# ha*in' "%% mu.h i)%l%'# %r $%li"i.( 3u"
ra"hr "h !r%n' i)%l%'# an) $%li"i.(5 $hil%(%$hi( "ha" ha* &ail) mi(ra3l#
in r)u.in' *i."imi6a"i%n an) hl$in' *i."im(. O*r.%min' "hi( $r%3lm rli(
n%" %n rj."in' i)%l%'# 3u" ra"hr %n )*%"in' %ur(l*( m%r &ull# "% &in)in'
a $%li"i.( "ha" !%rk(. I& ! )% n%" .h%%( %ur $%li"i.(4 a $%li"i.( !ill 3 .h%(n
&%r u(2 in))4 i" alra)# ha(., 7 Robert Elias.

Vicitimology, Rober Elias laments, is largely influenced by the

currently more prevalent law and order ideology but the need of the hour is
for intellectuals to come out of that framework, think deep and wide about
various ramifications in the society and lend a broad societal approach to the
subect of victimology ! moving forward from what is called right realism
toward the appropriate societal change ideologies" #e also opines that the
$eclaration of %asic &rinciples of 'ustice for Victims of (rime and )buse of
&ower adopted by the *+ ,eneral )ssembly in -./0 does provide an
opening for broadening how we define victimi1ation by including the
victims of abuse of political and economic power under that concept, but
feels that even if we did so, we would still largely be e2cluding another
significant source of victimi1ation3 that produced by corporations" #e fears
that the corporations, as non4governmental organi1ations, may not be
included within the conventional definitions of abuses of power, even
though they have enormous power, sometimes e2ceeding that of nation4
states even" #e emphasi1es that corporations, moreover, produce e2tensive
5
)dvocate practicing in the #igh (ourt of )ndhra &radesh, #yderabad6 Editor, Law Animated World"
5
(1ech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician6 ninth and last &resident of (1echoslovakia
7-./.4-..89 and the first &resident of (1ech Republic 7-..:48;;:9"

&rofessor of &olitics and <eacher, #onors #umanities, in the *niversity of =an >rancisco, (), *="
(ontd? 8 ?
4 8 4
harms, and far more victimi1ation 4 measured in terms of inuries, deaths,
and financial losses 4 than common crimes"
-

@n this conte2t it would be instructive to know what e2actly the referred
to $eclaration by the *+ ,eneral )ssembly says on this aspect" <he
$eclaration consists basically of two parts dealing with two different sets of
victims ! )" Victims of (rime and %" Victims of )buse of &ower" <he first
part is more clear and precise since it takes into account persons who are
affected by the already e2isting international or national laws of criminal
liabilities" )nd in such situations it underscores the necessity of -" Access to
justice and fair treatment; 8" Restitution6 :" Compensation and A" Assistance
in regard to victims of crimes and lays down some broad guidelines" @n the
second part, it briefly deals with the category of abuse of political and
economic power, which, in my opinion, need not be and may not be limited
to, as Robert Elias apprehends, only state or public sector abuses but can
also embrace and confront the problems of corporate crimes even" )s such,
it would be necessary and useful here to cite in toto the part % of the
declaration3
%" V@(<@B= C> )%*=E C> &CDER
-/" EVictimsE means persons who, individually or collectively, have suffered
harm, including physical or mental inury, emotional suffering, economic loss
or substantial impairment of their fundamental rights, through acts or
omissions that do not yet constitute violations of national criminal laws but of
internationally recogni1ed norms relating to human rights"
-." =tates should consider incorporating into the national law norms
proscribing abuses of power and providing remedies to victims of such
abuses" @n particular, such remedies should include restitution andFor
compensation, and necessary material, medical, psychological and social
assistance and support"
8;" =tates should consider negotiating multilateral international treaties
relating to victims, as defined in paragraph -/"
8-" =tates should periodically review e2isting legislation and practices to
ensure their responsiveness to changing circumstances, should enact and
enforce, if necessary, legislation proscribing acts that constitute serious
abuses of political or economic power, as well as promoting policies and
mechanisms for the prevention of such acts, and should develop and make
readily available appropriate rights and remedies for victims of such acts"
-
Robert Elias, Paradigms and Paradoxes of Victimology, @nternational victimology3 selected papers from
the /
th
international symposium, -..A, )ustralian @nstitute of (riminology, (anberra, -..G"
4 : 4
@f one carefully goes through the above A sections or clauses, it would
be evident that the *+ ,eneral )ssembly has deftly drafted them and
nowhere there is an indication that either the victims or the wielders of
power should be public authorities only" Especially (lause 8- reHuires state
parties to the declaration to be responsive to changing circumstances and to
enact legislation proscribing acts that constitute serious abuses of political
or economic power as well as policies and mechanisms for the prevention of
such acts which can clearly mean and be directed to corporate bodies even"
@t is obvious that economic power can be and is being wielded by corporate
bodies all over the world"
<here is no gainsaying that a philosophy and an ideology that glorifies
money4making and adores millionaires and billionaires as leaders or role
models of society and a system that accentuates greed for profit and power at
the cost of rest of the society and leaves it to the invisible hands of the so4
called free market to regulate the society at large is itself a menace to the
welfare and happiness of the humankind" De know and have seen how this
system gives rise to ugly corporate wars and also real wars for division of
spoils to grab precious natural resources for vested interests at the cost of
millions of ignorant, innocent and unfortunate poor and needy peoples all
over the world" <he very booming industries of weapons of death and
staggering profits made by merchants of death all round the world can be
seen as an indubitable proof of universal victimi1ation engendered and
practiced by this system of society i"e" the capitalist system which is rampant
today, unfortunately, almost all over the world" Even countries like ours
which bombastically proclaim in the preambles to their constitutions as
having resolved to constitute ? into a =CVERE@,+ =E(*I)R
=C(@)I@=< RE&*%I@( and secure to all its citi1ens3 '*=<@(E, social,
economic and political6 ? EJ*)I@<K of status and opportunity? etc" but
pursue and promote policies of greed and making a fast buck at the cost of
welfare and humanitarian ends and in subversion of their own directive
principles of policy toward securing ! that the ownership and control of the
material resources of the community are so distributed as best to subserve
the common good6 and that the operation of the economic system does not
result in the concentration of wealth and means of production to the common
detriment6 and to make effective provisions for securing the right to work, to
education and to public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age,
sickness and disablement, and in other cases of undeserved want ! etc" are in
reality rapidly developing capitalist entities which vicitimi1e whole sections
4 A 4
of people for the profit and enoyment of a handful of industrial, commercial
and political tycoons"
) single illustration of the overawing wealth and revolting display of
the same by )mbanis, especially Bukesh )mbani, by way of construction of
his Antilia ! a 8L4storey palatial building with three helipads, si2 floors of
parking and a series of floating gardens, and doubtful whether yet used as
his main residence ! which has been critici1ed as an ostentatious display of
wealth in a country where most people live on less than M8 a day and a city
where more than half the population lives in slums will do for the purpose
of indicting this inhuman and uneHual system" <he same system again doles
out huge privileges and facilities to the same tycoons by way of arbitrary
increase in gas prices ! in the instant case by the arbitrary decision of the
*nion ,overnment to double the gas price from the e2isting MA"8 7Rs"
8G8"809 per mmbtu 7million %ritish <hermal *nit9 to M/"A 7Rs" 08A"8;9 per
mmbtu, making the gas prices in @ndia one of the highest in the world !
which will result in doubling of gas prices from - )pril this year 78;-A9, and
that will make the life of common man miserable since it will have a
cascading effect on transport, domestic gas and even electric prices, which
will cost the country a minimum of Rs" 0A,0;; every year at the same time
enabling the R@I 7)mbanis9 to make a future windfall of Rs" -"8 lakh crores,
and all this due to active collusion between R@I and some ministers of the
central government" )nd against this nasty development, on the complaint
by eminent citi1ens ! former cabinet secretary <=R =ubramaniam, former
+avy (hief )dmiral R# <ahiliani, former =ecretary to ,overnment E)=
=arma and noted =upreme (ourt advocate Namini 'aiswal ! the $elhi
,overnment, under the anti4corruption crusader )rvind Neriwal, had Huite
recently ordered the anti4corruption branch to register an >@R against the
chairperson, R@I, Bukhesh )mbani, *nion &etroleum Binister B"
Veerappa Boily, former &etroleum Binister Burli $eora and former
director general of #ydrocarbons VN =ibal under various sections of the
&revention of (orruption )ct" <his phenomenon is clearly victimi1ation of
the whole society ! save for a few super rich upstarts benefiting ! by the
deliberate abuse of political power by the ministers and officers of the state
organs, as also of economic power by the industrial tycoons, who too
oyously collude with each other to draw sadistic pleasure in the enormous
sufferings due to economic losses and social and psychological travails of
the masses at large" =ince this is the ine2orable logic and inevitable
conseHuence of the solely profit oriented capitalist system, it would not be
incorrect to state that the capitalist mode of production and the
4 0 4
superstructure of various societal relations built on it are by themselves the
chief victimi1ers in the society and unless this system is radically changed to
one of social control, social planning and social welfare ! call it communism
or socialism or social democracy or whatever ! victimology will always
perpetuate itself with the victim society left languishing without any
efficacious cures"
@ will not take much space engrossing on many illustrations of
corporate victimi1ation, environmental degradation and drug peddling etc"
causing collective and individual victimi1ation or unfair labor practices
producing the same disastrous result for the real creators of goods and
wealth but think two or three stark e2amples would suffice here" @ purposely
and freHuently remarked in several speeches and articles that corporate
victimi1ation can even ascend Oor descendP up Oor downP to the level of
corporate cannibalism" @t is not ust a hyperbole but a gory reality" @ was a
witness, though a delayed indirect witness, to the horrible conseHuences of
the worlds worst industrial disaster ! the %hopal Qahreeli ,as Naand O<he
%hopal &oison ,as @ncidentP ! as it is popularly and colloHuially known"
@mmediately on the outburst of the news relating to that shocking accident,
so many rumors were afloat among people ! that thousands or perhaps even
one lakh died, their corpses were secretly carted out in trucks to unknown
destinations and mass cremated, %hopal was reduced to a ghost city, etc" and
it did not take much time for those to reach our ears too" )t that time @ was
active as the =ecretary of &eoples *nion for (ivil Iiberties, #yderabad and
also as (onvener, Bar2ist =tudy >orum, and one cannot imagine the amount
of peer pressure in demanding to magnify the deaths and damages caused by
that disaster and the fury and agony at the media trying to downplay the
losses occurred therein, etc" )lso the real cause of that accident was
enigmatic and before the Bethyl @cocyanate 7B@(9 is the real cause
contention gained ground and much credence, there was a widely prevalent
opinion about a poisonous gas &hosgene being the real cause" De took out a
detailed pamphlet cum petition to the &resident of @ndia delineating the gory
conseHuences of that unfortunate accident and the probability of &hosgene, a
war gas banned by international conventions like the ,eneva (onvention
being the real or main cause, the absolute recklessness of the multinational
company *nion (arbide in the entire episode violating all national and
international law norms and put the casualty figure at about 8;,;;; deaths
and several more inured ! which was deemed Huite higher by the media
assessments which tried to downplay that to some :;;;4A;;; deaths but was
again considered low by our activist friends who would still swear that it
4 G 4
should be around one lakh or so" +ow after all these years @ am glad that
even the ,overnment estimates have almost confirmed that cautious figure
put forth by us but everybody seems to have discarded the &hosgene war
gas 7poisonous gas9 is the cause argument put forward by us ! unfortunately
without any intellectual and scientific discussion on the same" %e that as it
may, what @ want to stress here is the enormity of corporate cannibalism in
this conte2t and the abuse of both political and economic power in this case"
@ think the below Huote from one of my own articles around that time 7in
'anuary -./0 or so9 would suffice to e2pose the gross criminal negligence of
the multinational company as also the evil ne2us between the corporate and
political cannibals that resulted in this havoc3
?now, we have ample information about the production process of
phosgene, B@( and the ha1ards posed by them and the necessary safety
measures to be taken up" Especially safety in handling is reported to depend
to a great e2tent on the effectiveness of employee education, proper safety
instrumentation, alert supervision and the use of safe eHuipment" @n this
particular case of the *nion (arbide plant at %hopal, we find each of these
reHuirements in effective absence" India oday 7:- $ecember -./A9 reports
thus3 @n -.LL4L/, when work on the B@( plant started, only first class %"=c"
graduates or those with a diploma in engineering were taken as operators" <hey were
subected to si2 months theoretical training and then trained on the ob" <hat is no
longer true, and there are cases of operators without an academic science background
and, what is more, they no longer have to undergo the same rigorous training as
before" =ome operators are matriculates from other plants or units" Dorse still, the
number of staff has been cut down because of financial problems" @t is 8ui" $%((i3l
"ha" "h (.r" )al( %& "h Uni%n Car3i) mana'mn" !i"h "h Uni%n an) S"a"
9%*rnmn"( ha* mu.h "% )% !i"h "hi( r.rui"mn" %& inli'i3l an) un"rain) $r(%nnl"
Boreover, Br" Viay ,upta, the legal advisor of the *"(" plant is said to be a
(ongress4@ leader and close supporter of (hief Binsiter, )run =ingh" )
nephew of the former Education Binister Br" +arsingrow $iskhit is a public
relations officer of the *"(" plant" Th .%m$an#1( 'u(" h%u( a" Sh#amala /ill( !a(
al!a#( a" "h )i($%(al %& "h Chi& Mini("r Arjun Sin'h 7see Indian !xpress, 04-84-./A9"
Thi( $%li"i.al .l%u" %& "h .%m$an# !a( "h .au( &%r )'nra"i%n in "h r.rui"mn" %&
$r(%nnl a( !ll a( &%r "h )&n. %& i"( mi())( 3# "h M.P. an) "h Uni%n 9%*rnmn"("
Even the report of the three *= e2perts regarding the safety measures in the
plant found much fault with the safety system there and it is now well4known
that the plant at %hopal did not have the computeri1ed safety4warning system
which was installed in the mother4plant in Dest Virginia, *"=")" Boreover,
the way in which the *nion (arbide Banagement is going all out to deny any
presence of phosgene inside the plant raised many an eyebrow" Even $r"
Varadaraan of (=@R, who otherwise was so willingly obliged to the *(
people in declaring that it was B@( gas which was responsible for the
killings, had to admit the presence of phosgene in the plant" <his only implies
that "h U.C. $%$l ha* 3n hi)in' "h &a." %& $h%('n $r%)u."i%n &r%m "h 3'innin'
an) "h# li) in "hi( r($." "% "h Uni%n an) "h S"a" 9%*rnmn"( a( !ll a( "% "h $%$l
4 L 4
in 'nral" De have already learnt that practically all phosgene manufacture is
captive i"e" it is used in the manufacture of other chemicals within the plant
boundary" <his implies that phosgene is not to be stored for long times, but
has to be produced as and when reHuired so as to be immediately used for
further processing" <his ought to be the same case with B@( also" %ut all
these restrictions in case of both these intermediate products seem to have
been thrown to winds ! all rules and regulations in this regard seem to have
been blatantly violated" Even the fact of B@( production was sought to be
suppressed and at first the *nion (arbide management circulated the big lie
that they are importing the B@(" %ut when this lie was refuted by its own
mother corporation in the *=), they had to admit the fact of indigenous
production of B@(, but regarding the presence and production of phosgene
they are still lying" <his is because %n. "h# a)mi" "hi( &a." "h# !%ul) 3 in &%r
man#-a-"r%u3l4 *n in"rna"i%nal .n(ur &%r "hir .riminal n'li'n.4 .riminal *i%la"i%n
%& in"rna"i%nal r'ula"i%n( an) .riminal a."( %& ).i" an) l#in'" =o naturally they want
and try their best to suppress this fact and put the sole blame for the disaster
on the B@( gas" In "hi( hi)%u( manu*r "h# ar 3in' a."i*l# a((i(") 3# "h Uni%n
an) "h S"a" '%*rnmn"( an) al(% 3# "h m%n%$%l# .a$i"ali(" $r(( %& %ur .%un"r#" Bost
of the scientists, chemists, doctors and other e2perts are also discreetly silent
on this aspect" @n such a situation where the very presence and production of
phosgene is being denied by the *( people, one can in nowise e2pect its
employees to possess any adeHuate knowledge about the great ha1ards that
killer gas poses and the ways and means to counter such ha1ards" )s to the
lakhs of innocent people of %hopal %n .an %nl# 'u(( "h h%l%.au(" "% !hi.h "h#
!r (u3j." )u "% "h ha*%. $la#) 3# a 'a( a'ain(" !hi.h *n $r%&((i%nal (%l)ir( !r
a)*i() n%" "% "ak an# .han.(" <hat there have been annual accidents in %hopal
plant ever since it started its production in -./;, that on 8G $ecember -./-, a
plant operator Bohammed )shraf was killed following a leakage of phosgene
gas, and that a local ournalist Ra Numar Neshwani has written soul4stirring
appeals in his Rapat "apta#i$ 7Deekly Reporter9 and also in %ansatta
about the impending disaster are too well4known to be enumerated in detail"
<hat the political clout of the company saved it each time and that the then
Iabour Binister <arasingh Viyogi had so superciliously told Br" Bahendra
Narma, BI), in the =tate )ssembly in $ecember -./8 that a sum of Rs" 80
crores had been invested on the plant, that it was not a small stone to be
shifted elsewhere and that there was no danger to %hopal nor would there be
any in future are also eHually well known" <his only nhan.( "h .ul$a3ili"# %& "h
S"a" 9%*rnmn" %& Ma)h#a Pra)(h man# "im( %*r and it is only reasonable that it
should have at once resigned in the wake of such a holocaust" %ut since the
(hief Binister )run =ingh still unashamedly continues in office, it is Huite
correct on our part to have demanded his dismissal6 likewise the *nion
@ndustries and (hemicals Binisters cannot also escape from their culpability
and they too ought to Huit" Thi( 3in' "h !%r(" in)u("rial )i(a("r in "h !%rl)4 i" i(
%nl# ju(" an) ra(%na3l "ha" an In"rna"i%nal C%mmi((i%n %& In8uir# 3 %r)r) a" %n.
an) "h Uni") Na"i%n( hl$ an) 'ui)an. imm)ia"l# (%u'h"" )lso "h n"ir a(("( %& "h
Uni%n Car3i) C%r$%ra"i%n ha* "% 3 imm)ia"l# .%n&i(.a") 3# "h Uni%n %r S"a"
9%*rnmn"(" <he people of our country have to rise to the occasion and fight
4 / 4
vigorously for reali1ing the above demands" Cf courts, it is Huite true that it
would not suffice even if all these demands are conceded and what is
especially needed is a total change in the present policy of industriali1ation" A
ral humani"# %rin") an) la3%ur in"n(i* in)u("riali6a"i%n $r%.((4 !i"h a)8ua"
$r%"."i%n "% "h :i("in' n*ir%nmn"4 i( "h n) %& "h )a# an) "hi( in*%l*( 3i""r ("ru''l
a'ain(" "h mul"ina"i%nal(4 an) "hir In)ian "%u"( an) alli(" <he sham =ocialist
measures of the *nion and =tate ,overnments which only develop private
capitalism and drive for money4making more and more have to be countered
and effectively fought" %ut first things first please" Iet us first concentrate on
the immediate demands ensuing from this unprecedented holocaust in %hopal
and in course of time work for more ust, egalitarian and humanity conscious
policies, programmes and system" 7emphases mine9
@t should be added that to this day the %hopal ,as victims and their families
have not received adeHuate care or compensation and even on the intervention, or
perhaps because of the intervention, by the =upreme (ourt of @ndia, a relatively
meager amount of AL; million dollars was finally settled for all the thousands of
victims ! families of about 8;,;;; dead and the thousands of others inured !
which, according to our good friend $r" Ramana $hara, who was also active on
the medical and social field along with us from at the time of the disaster, was
Huite low compared to the enormous compensation %arrack Cbama e2tracted from
the %ritish &etroleum company for the ,ulf of Be2ico oil spill which caused
almost no human deaths but only lot of pollution and perishing of certain marine
species" $r" Ramana $hara, in a Huite recent <E$4BE$ talk in *=, lamented that
whereas the %hopal ,as $isaster victims received only a total of some AL; million
dollars amounting to ust M0;; per inured and around M:;;; per dead victims
family, some 8; billion dollars was e2tracted by the *= &resident from the %& ust
as interim relief" <his shows the crass discrimination, the ineHuity and inustice so
evident on its face as regards reaching relief to the victims of such disasters in the
developed and developing countries and above all the inefficiency, impotence and
failure of our countrys political and udicial systems to demand and e2tract the
right amounts of compensation and proper measures of rehabilitation and stern
steps of punishment of the guilty victimi1ers"
@t may also be noted in this conte2t that several members of the @nternational
Bedical (ommission on %hopal $isaster had seriously critici1ed this stark
discrimination in reaching right relief to the victims in these two cases thus3
<he recent M8;4billion fund made available to the *"=" government by %&
for the oil leak in the ,ulf of Be2ico has unwittingly highlighted a )%u3l
("an)ar) in "h )i($n(a"i%n %& ju("i. &%r "h "!% )i(a("r(" <he ,ulf oil spill is,
undoubtedly, ghastly but it is as yet much smaller in scale and conseHuences
than the %hopal disaster" )ccording to the official figures published by the
@ndian government, :,0;; people were killed outright with the subseHuent
death toll claimed to be in e2cess of -0,;;;" *nion (arbide abandoned the
plant after the disaster and has been accused of failing to clean up the site,
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e2posing local people to water supply contaminated with to2ic chemicals"
<he deep water tables in %hopal and surrounding areas are now considered to
be at risk of contamination" Even though $ow (hemical bought *nion
(arbideRs assets, it has refused so far to take responsibility for its liabilities"
Dhile there were (ongressional hearings to hold %& publicly accountable for
the ,ulf oil spill, similar action did not occur for *nion (arbideRs
monumental disaster in %hopal, even though the company was cutting obs,
decreasing safety training, cutting maintenance costs, and using inferior
technology in %hopal compared to a similar plant in @nstitute, Dest Virginia"
@t took -L years for the @ndian government to obtain a once4for4all settlement
of MAL;4million compensation on behalf of the victims S a meagre sum
compared to the interim compensation fund of M8; billion, set up by %&"
<he %& fund was set up without knowledge or evidence of inuryFloss of
human life, apart from those who were on the rig at the time of accident" Ket
in %hopal, without knowing the si1e of the damage S for e2ample, the
number of people who died or assessing the levels of disability and the effects
of long4term morbidity amongst the survivors S the full settlement for
compensation was agreed at MAL; million" Thi( a'rmn" 3"!n "h '%*rnmn"
%& In)ia an) Uni%n Car3i) !a( .%n(i)r) 3# "h *i."im( "% 3 a *i%la"i%n %& "hir human
ri'h"("
@f international human rights laws and principles are to be applied, it is clear
that there is a vast chasm between the current approach to the oil spill in the
,ulf of Be2ico and the %hopal victims and their environment" Tran(na"i%nal
.%r$%ra"i%n( mu(" 3 un)r :a."l# "h (am (" %& %3li'a"i%n(4 n% ma""r !hr "hir
%$ra"i%n( "ak $la. in "h !%rl)" De support holding those responsible for the
%hopal disaster to account in the same way as those responsible for the %&
,ulf leak" O#e &indu, A )ugust 8;-;P
)nd, as per a Dikipedia report, <he 8;-; $eepwater #ori1on oil spill, the
largest accidental release of oil into marine waters in history, resulted in severe
environmental, health and economic conseHuences Oinitial oil rig e2plosion killing --
persons and inuring -L, and largest oil spill in history of about 0 million barrels of oil affecting
the coastal seas of several )merican states and killing lot of marine speciesP" <he company 7%&9
pled guilty to -- counts of felony manslaughter, two misdemeanors, and one felony count
of lying to (ongress, and agreed to pay more than MA"0 billion in fines and penalties, the
largest criminal resolution in *= history" Iegal proceedings e2pected to conclude in 8;-A
are ongoing to determine payouts and fines under the (lean Dater )ct and the +atural
Resources $amage )ssessment" %& faces damages of up to M-L"G billion in the trial"
)nother illustration of social victimology, in which category such
disasters andFor destructive deeds can be grouped under, is more near4home
! an eco4destructive campaign undertaken by the government and urban
development and municipal authorities themselves in #yderabad" <his
related to the deliberate destruction of the water4spread area of the historic
#ussain =agar lake and construction of a +ecklace Road filling up the
waters with all trash and garbage and also permitting many commercial
4 -; 4
enterprises and above all a Railway =tation to be built in the water4spread
area which is against all canons of environmental law and ustice and also
directly violative of fundamental rights of citi1ens to clean waters, clean air
and eco4harmony" ) writ petition was filed by some adacent basti4dwellers
and social activists of the city, at first an inunction was granted against the
construction of the railway station, but later somewhat hastily revoked and
so the public interest litigation had to knock the doors of the )pe2 (ourt by
way of appeal against such interim order" >ortunately, the )pe2 (ourt was
alert to the risks and ha1ards of such environmentally harmful and damaging
developments, ordered a single4person committee to inHuire into the matter,
and on his report, being satisfied by that the concerns of the petitioners and
risk of harm to society and environment was real and pressing, passed an
inunctive order restraining any constructions within 8 kilometres 1one of
the lake, ordered withdrawal of the writ petition also for its consideration,
appointed another three4man committee, under a noted environmentalist and
former secretary to the *nion ,overnment, known as Raamani (ommittee"
<his Raamani (ommittee has gone comprehensively into the entire matter
and submitted a voluminous report confirming almost all the
avermentsFallegations of the petitioners whereupon the )pe2 (ourt Huite
recently made the inunction absolute and remitted the matters back to our
7)"&"9 #igh (ourt for speedy disposal as per the guidelines issued by it
within A months or so" %ut what is relevant here that despite peoples
protests and obections the state authorities themselves have with impunity
embarked on the destruction of the historic lake, now reduced to almost one4
third of its once sprawling water4spread area, thereby seriously damaging the
lung4space of the entire #yderabad citi1enry" )nd an @4Ba2 theatre, a +<R
,ardens, a &eoples &la1a, an Eat =treet, a 'ala Vihar, etc" commercial
enterprises and a +ecklace Road BB<= Railway =tation and the elegant
+ecklace Road itself which have come up in the ruins of this lake, or which
have been built by ruining the lake, and are in ostentatious display and
e2istence since about two decades now ! will or can all of these be
demolished to restore the glory of the sprawling water4spread of the citys
uniHue lakeT (an the lung4space of the citi1enry be at least restored if not
enriched by any remedial measures and how long this litigation is going to
take further ! how many yearsFdecades more before any eHuitable ustice
reached to the people of the cityT <his is another stark e2ample of collective
victimi1ation by the state organs in collusion with corporate bodies"
+ow ust one illustration of individual victimi1ation by a corporate
company" <his company illegally and fraudulently transferred a part of its
4 -- 4
industry to some other more cunning and fraudulent company in order to
easily get rid of its unwanted surplus workmen without the usual legal
constraints confronting it otherwise and also to sell away some valuable
properties as real estate to reap some windfalls and in that course transferred
its workmen also en masse like chattel without any consultation process and
any tripartite accord" ) workman who protested against this transfer and
only asked for settlement of accounts as on that day of transfer and refused
to oin the transferee establishment was totally disowned and he had to
knock the doors of the #igh (ourt for ustice" Even after a decade his case is
pending but meanwhile he suffered a heart attack for which despite incessant
reHuests neither the corporate management nor even the provident fund
authorities did not e2tend a paisa of help ! from his own legally due arrears"
#e had to again pray the #igh (ourt for the release at least for release of his
own provident fund as medical advance which after long gestation was
ultimately granted but by this time he had fallen into lakhs of rupees debts
for undergoing a heart surgery and the post4operation medical care which is
a daily encumbrance on his frail resources, and is undergoing a lot of
distress, suffering and humiliation and is rendered totally destitute" <his is
happening in spite of the protective social welfare legislation, which is
unfortunately not clear enough and not insisting on speedy and decent
remedies to the victims of corporate frauds and unfair labor practices" <his
particular development in that company has also resulted in collective
victimi1ation of the workmen of that company with more than a hundred
among them thrown out from the workforce by various devious means" <he
laws arms may be long but not Huick enough, or Huite tardy and impotent,
and as )nacharsis lamented and %al1ac polished up3 Iaws are spider webs
through which the big flies pass and the little ones get caught"
@ fully approve of Robert Elias saying, ?corporations like states are
substantially responsible for creating the environments in which common crime
flourishes" <hey help generate the economic conditions for the poor, and even for the
rich, for e2ample, that generate most crime" @n other words, on both a micro and a macro
level, corporations contribute substantially to worsening the crime problem, and to
increasing victimisation" <hus, we in victimology have no choice but to focus on
corporate harms, even if we confine ourselves to fairly narrow definitions of crime" ?we
have a choice" De can continue to ignore corporate harms or we can begin to take them
seriously" @f we choose the latter, then victim research and policy must devote itself to
holding corporations responsible for the victimisation they generate, including initiatives
that impose formal criminal liability for this behaviour" De should help demonstrate the
devastating impact of these harms" De should e2pose the double standards and
favouritism in state laws and policies toward corporate victimisation" )nd we should
clarify the connection between unrestrained corporate power and the criminal
4 -8 4
victimisation it helps generate even at the hands of people not directly involved in the
corporate sector"
8
<his is to be naturally e2tended to the cases of abuse of
political and economic power by the =tate authorities" <he media also is in
part to blame since it largely concentrates on the law and order
vicitimology aspects and ignores the societal victimi1ation ideologies and
strategies to a large e2tent"
)s for suggesting any remedial measures, @ can only say that stricter and
more e2peditiously efficient laws coupled with stringent and speedy
enforcement mechanisms ! with a decidedly social welfare and eco4friendly
orientation ! are Huite necessary and the implementation part is more crucial
than the enabling statutory part in many instances" <he udiciary, above all,
has to be pro4active and e2peditiously ustice4delivering with more bent on
eHuity than the so4called legal ustice in coming to the Huick aid of various
kinds of victims at least, if not in hurrying the punishment of the victimi1ers"
<here is simply no meaning in letting a victim bleed to death and then try to
reach ustice to him posthumously, if at all, through some crumbs thrown to
the victim family" Iikewise one cannot let the lung4spaces of entire
communities be seriously inured and leave the suffocating society to some
remotely future date of possible but Huite uncertain surgical or medical
remedy and recuperation" @t may be needless to underscore that "h m%("
im$%r"an" rm)# li( in "h .%n("an" an) alr" !a".h an) .%n(.in"i%u( a'i"a"i%n
an) &&%r" 3# "h $u3li. a" lar'4 an) "h in"ll."ual( in $ar"i.ular, against such
rampant social evils"
U U U U U
#yderabad
*pdated A Bay 8;-A"
O@" B)II@N)R'*+) =#)RB)P
8
Robert Elias, I'id"