The United States has rejected India's request for extradition of former Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson in connection with the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, official sources said in Delhi on Wednesday.

The US administrative department had rejected the extradition request on technical ground, the sources said.

The news comes a day after the Supreme Court had ordered a compensation of Rs 1503 crore for the Bhopal gas victims.

A Bhopal city court had ruled last year that Anderson should face charges of culpable homicide (under Section 304 IPC) and had lashed out at CBI 'for diluting the charge against him to negligence not amounting to murder'.

The government contention of moving under Section 304 (A) of the IPC relating to offence of causing death by rash or negligent act was not accepted by the court.

The government had argued that under Section 304(A), it was an extraditable offence as per the provisions of the Extradition Treaty between India and the US.

The matter was being studied by the legal department of the CBI before a fresh extradition request could be moved to the
United States for his extradition, they said.