The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on May 8, 2020 invoked ‘strict liability’ clause in the LG Polymers gas leak tragedy in Visakhapatnam. NGT directed the company to deposit an initial amount of Rs. 50 crore and formed a fact-finding five-member panel headed by former Andhra Pradesh High Court judge justice B Seshasayana Reddy.
- Some lawyers, however, say that the term “absolute liability” should have been used instead, as the 19th century principle of “strict liability” was made redundant in India by the Supreme Court in 1986.
- Under the “strict liability principle”, a party is not liable and need not pay compensation if a hazardous substance escapes his premises by accident or by an “act of God’” among other circumstances.
- Strict liability was evolved in an 1868 English case called Rylands versus Fletcher. It provided companies with several exemptions from assuming liability.
- Absolute liability provided companies with no defence or exemptions.
- The principle of absolute liability is part of Article 21 (right to life).
Source: The Hindu
