Presenter: Yonghwan Choung (Associate Professor, O.P. Jindal Global University, School of Law)

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) and ethical management are showing a tendency to manifest not only through internal controls within individual companies but also through legislation. India is not exempt from this trend and is making its own efforts. This presentation will explore the doctrine of absolute liability under India’s tort law, which emphasizes social responsibility. It will focus on the Supreme Court of India’s rulings related to the gas leak incidents in Bhopal in 1984 and Delhi in 1985. The Supreme Court of India applied its unique absolute liability doctrine, rather than traditional strict liability, to the compensation for damages arising from these hazardous industries, imposing stringent social responsibilities on companies within these sectors. Through this legal application, the presentation will examine the issues of compensation for damages in India’s hazardous industries from multiple angles, considering its common law roots, and highlight the precautions that Korean companies should take when entering the Indian market.