---
title: "Absolute Liability Principle: Oleum Gas Case"
description: "The Absolute Liability Principle holds hazardous enterprises fully accountable for harm caused, as defined by India's Supreme Court in 1986."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/absolute-liability-principle"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- Absolute liability holds an enterprise engaged in a hazardous activity fully liable for harm it causes, with no exceptions, regardless of negligence or fault.
- How does absolute liability differ from the rule in Rylands v. Fletcher?
- Was the absolute liability rule binding law given the doubts about it being obiter?
- How is the amount of compensation determined under absolute liability?
- Where has absolute liability been applied after the Oleum case?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

Absolute liability holds an enterprise engaged in a hazardous activity fully liable for harm it causes, with no exceptions, regardless of negligence or fault.

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Example

In the 1985 Oleum gas leak from Shriram Foods and Fertilizer Industries in Delhi, the Supreme Court in M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (1987) used the incident to lay down the absolute liability principle for hazardous enterprises.

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