Wednesday, April 5 2006 10:13 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: US Democrat Frank Pallone and ten other Congress lawmakers have filed an amicus brief in a US Court of Appeals on behalf of the more than 20,000 victims of the Union Carbide chemical disaster at Bhopal in 1984.

Pallone, the founder of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans, initiated the 29-page brief in response to a New York district court's decision that did not take into account India's submission of a formal statement seeking relief.

The lawmakers held that the court was wrong in refusing to consider the request and said that disregard of India's submission is improper and interferes with America's public policy and foreign relations with the country.

"The Bhopal victims have repeatedly tried their cases in the US court system but were subjected to unfair treatment and corporate favoritism. As elected officials, we have a responsibility to call on the courts to recognise the rights of India and the residents of Bhopal," Pallone said in a statement.

The lawmakers also pointed out the environmental ramifications of the trial.

"It is a mandate of the Congress to ensure that US corporations and companies investing abroad or undertaking activities overseas comply with local, national and international laws regarding the environment and do not engage in environmental abuses," they said in the amicus brief.

"(The Members of Congress) request that this court accord due consideration to the strong legal and public policy interests of the US in affording redress to victims of environmental pollution and harm caused by American corporations," they added.