M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (Oleum Gas Leak Case)
(1987) 1 SCC 395 · Supreme Court of India
A dangerous oleum gas (fuming sulphuric acid) leak from a Shriram Foods and Fertilisers unit in Delhi in December 1985 caused a death and injured many nearby residents, raising the question of how much liability a hazardous industry should bear for such harm.
The Court created the doctrine of "Absolute Liability" for industries engaged in inherently hazardous activities — going even further than the older English "strict liability" rule by removing all standard exceptions (like an outside act or force majeure), making the industry fully liable for any harm caused, no excuses.
A genuinely original Indian legal doctrine, not borrowed from English law — the foundation for how hazardous-industry accidents (chemical leaks, industrial disasters) are handled in Indian courts ever since.
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