The Supreme Court on Wednesday held real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal guilty in the 1997 Uphaar cinema tragedy that claimed the lives of 59 people saying they were more interested about making money than ensuring safety of the cinegoers.
Promoter of the Ansal Group, Sushil Ansal on Thursday apologised in the Supreme Court to the families of the victims of Uphaar tragedy in which 59 cinema-goers were killed in a blaze in 1997.
Real estate barons Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking de-sealing of the Uphaar cinema hall where 59 cine-goers had lost their lives in 1997 in a blaze when a Bollywood movie was being screened.
The convicts, out on bail, were taken into the custody after the order was pronounced.
The cinema hall will be given within one month of the conclusion of defence evidence in the criminal case pending trial at Patiala House.
Kumar had told the court in evidence that unauthorised plywood partitions set up by the tenants inside the building had severely hampered passage when people from the balcony were rushed out to the open-air terrace, Saxena said.
A Delhi court on Friday convicted real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal for tampering with evidence in the 1997 case of Uphaar Cinema fire which claimed 59 lives.
On February 9, 2017, the apex court had by a 2:1 majority verdict given relief to 78-year-old Sushil Ansal considering his "advanced age-related complications" by awarding him the jail term which he had already served. It had, however, asked his younger sibling Gopal Ansal to serve the remaining one year jail term in the case.
An association set up by the family members of the Uphaar tragedy - the All Victims of Uphaar Tragedy on Tuesday moved a petition before the Delhi High Court seeking the enhancement of punishment of the two-year jail sentence awarded to the Ansal brothers in the fire tragedy case. The petition comes close on the heels of Gopal and Sushil Ansal, owners of the Uphaar cinema hall, getting bail from High Court after the trial court sentenced them to two-year imprisonment.
The case pertains to the tragedy that occurred on June 13, 1997, when a fire broke out at the popular theatre during a screening of the film Border. A transformer installed in the basement of the theatre had caught fire.
Uphaar victims families gathered outside the cinema house in south Delhi that claimed 59 of their loved ones' lives in a fire that raged for hours.
A Delhi court on Tuesday ordered the release of real estate tycoons Sushil and Gopal Ansal against the jail term already undergone by them in a case of tampering with evidence in the case related to the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire, which had claimed 59 lives.
The Delhi high court on Thursday allowed criminal prosecution of Ansal brothers, owners of Uphaar Cinema, for allegedly tampering with evidence in the Uphaar fire case in which 59 people were killed and several others injured 12 years ago.
Kanth has challenged the 2010 trial court order summoning him for allowing extra seats in Uphaar cinema hall where 59 people died in a blaze in 1997.
As Additional Sessions Judge Mamta Sehgal pronounced the judgment convicting 12 people for the infamous Uphaar tragedy, there was no emotion on the faces of those waiting for justice. They had been waiting to hear the words for the last 10 years.
Two former Uphaar cinema managers, undergoing seven years' rigorous imprisonment in the 1997 cinema hall fire tragedy case, on Tuesday moved the Delhi High Court challenging their conviction.
A bench of Justices B N Aggarwal and G S Singhvi passed the orders on an appeal filed by the Uphaar Victims Welfare Association, challenging the grant of the bail.
A Delhi court on Wednesday deferred the hearing till Thursday on the quantum of punishment in the Uphaar cinema tragedy case as the arguments remained inconclusive.
The notice comes within a week of the court granting them bail and ordering suspension of their two-year jail term. Apart from the Ansal brothers, the court also issued notices to three other convicts and the CBI.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday cancelled the bail of Sushil and Gopal Ansal, who were sentenced to two years of imprisonment by the trial court in the Uphaar fire tragedy, which claimed 59 lives. Sushil and Gopal Ansal were directed by the apex court to surrender by 4 pm on Thursday.
A Delhi court rejected the Central Bureau of Investigation's report giving a clean chit to former IPS officer Amod Kanth in Uphaar cinema hall fire tragedy, saying there was sufficient evidence to prosecute him for allowing extra seats in the hall where 59 movie-watchers died in a blaze in 1997.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted an interim relief of Rs 5.14 crore to dependents and injured victims of Uphaar cinema hall tragedy, which claimed 59 lives and injured 103 people in New Delhi in June 1997.
The counsel for convicts had on Wednesday submitted that they should either be sentenced only to a fine or be released on probation; a custodial punishment was not mandatory for the provisions of the law under which they have been held guilty.
A chronology of the events in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case.
The party said that given the anguish expressed by the families who had waged a long legal battle, a lot needs to be done to restore the faith of families of the deceased in the country's justice delivery system.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday dropped proceedings and quashed the summons issued by a lower court against real estate tycoons Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal in the Uphaar cinema fire tragedy case for allegedly threatening complainant Neelam Krishnamoorthy.
Sunetra Choudhury hopes the Supreme Court will eventually give a fitting punishment to the Uphaar accused.
The bench, also comprising Justices Kurian Joseph and Adarsh Kumar Goel, did not allow the plea and asked the probe agency to file a review petition with all the points which have been left out.
Gopal has sought relief that he should not be asked to serve one-year jail term like his elder brother Sushil Ansal in the case of 1997 fire tragedy in which 59 people were killed.
During the 30-minute-long meeting, the delegation also urged the chief minister to make stringent law for punishment in man-made disasters.
The Supreme Court expressed displeasure over real estate baron and convict in Uphaar fire tragedy case Sushil Ansal leaving the country without taking its permission.
In terms of casualties, Friday's fire at the commercial building was the largest since the blaze at a factory in the Anaj Mandi area and the second largest since the Uphaar Cinema tragedy in 1997.
"Sorry, we can't," the bench said when senior advocate Ram Jethmalani mentioned the matter and sought more time for Ansal.
The Delhi High Court on Friday upheld the conviction of real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case.
The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to entertain an application filed by the Ansal brothers seeking review of their bail cancellation in the Uphaar cinema tragedy case.
In a brief submission, CBI's senior counsel Harish Salve told a bench of Justices B N Aggarwal and G S Singhvi that the agency had executed bailable warrants against Sushil Ansal on August 23 and against Gopal on August 25. The two were granted bail soon after their arrest.
Real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal on Wednesday escaped being jailed in the 18-year-old gruesome Uphaar Cinema fire tragedy in which 59 people died.
The Supreme Court on Monday admitted petitions filed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Delhi police challenging a high court order asking them to pay Rs 2.26 crore each as compensation.
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