This case has some similarities to the Exxon Valdez case. Exxon has paid some but not all of the money ordered by courts as they are apparently above the law. In the case of Union Carbide, they previously paid fines that were ordered by the government though they the criminal case has taken longer. Justice appears to work at a different pace for corporations compared to individuals.
A court in the Indian city of Bhopal is due to rule on whether a gas plant leak that killed thousands of people more than 25 years ago was a criminal act.
The leak at the Union Carbide plant was worst industrial disaster in history.
Forty tonnes of a toxin called methyl isocyanate leaked from the factory and settled over slums on 3 December 1984.
Campaigners say at least 15,000 people were killed within days, and say the horrific effects of the gas continue to this day.
The site of the former pesticide plant is now abandoned.
