New Delhi, Jan. 11 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed doubts over the legality of the Centre's demand that American company Union Carbide be directed to pay additional compensation of more than Rs.7,400 crore to the victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, saying that populism cannot form the basis of a judicial intervention.

A Constitution bench, headed by justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, questioned the government for its endeavour to not follow the terms of a settlement arrived at before top court in 1989 regarding damages to be paid by the company. "If we allow the government to reopen a settlement 25 years after, the sanctity of a settlement goes away. What signal does it send that the Union government can reopen anything even if it...