BackSC agrees to review Uphaar theatre fire case
The CBI and the association of victims of Uphaar tragedy moved the Supreme Court in November seeking review of its verdict
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to reconsider its August 2015 decision to not impose a jail term on the Ansal brothers for a 1997 fire at a New Delhi movie hall owned by them in which more than 50 people were killed.
In a chamber hearing, the top court decided that the case is fit for a review.
On 18 August, a bench comprising justices Anil Dave, Kurien Joseph and Adarsh Kumar Goel convicted septuagenarians- Sushil and Gopal Ansal of criminal negligence and fined them ₹ 30 crore each with no jail term.
In a judgement on 23 September, the bench said the “magnitude" of the tragedy case “calls for a higher sentence" but the court has to limit itself to the choice available under the law.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (Avut) moved the Supreme Court in November seeking review of its verdict.
In 2014, a two-judge bench of justice T. S. Thakur and Gyan Sudha Misra (retired) had differed on the quantum of sentence for Ansal brothers and the case was passed on to a three-judge bench.
Justice Thakur had retained the one-year jail term awarded by Delhi high court in 2008 but Justice Misra awarded the maximum punishment of two years and imposed a collective fine of ₹ 100 crore.
The court had accepted the argument of advocate Ram Jethmalani that the Ansal brothers be spared prison considering their age and the fact that they had already served their sentence partially. While Sushil Ansal spent over five months in prison, Gopal Ansal was in jail for over four months immediately after the tragedy.
The CBI, in its review plea, said that it had not been given sufficient time to put forth its views and the verdict had resulted in “miscarriage of justice."
“Due to the paucity of time on the day on which this case was heard, the prosecution could not adequately put across the reasons why this court should not substitute a monetary fine in place of a jail sentence," the review petition said.
The review petitioners have sought an open court hearing but the Supreme court has not specified if that would be allowed. The same bench that delivered the judgement will review the case now although a date of hearing has not been decided.
Fifty-nine people, trapped in the balcony of the Uphaar theatre in South Delhi, had died of asphyxia following the fire and over 100 were injured in the subsequent stampede on 13 June, 1997 during the screening of Bollywood film Border.
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