New Delhi: Convicted after being found guilty for tampering with evidence at the scene of the tragic Uphaar theatre fire, the owners Sushil and Gopal Ansal have had their plea seeking suspension of sentence dismissed by the Delhi High Court on Wednesday.
A bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad passed the ruling on Wednesday. The court had kept the order reserved on January 27, 2022, after the conclusion of the submissions of all sides a trial court had awarded them the seven-year sentence and imposed a fine of ₹2.25 crore.
59 people died of asphyxiation when a fire broke out in the Uphaar theatre in Green Park, Delhi on June 13, 1997. A further 103 people were injured in the ensuing stampede. The victims and the families of the deceased later formed The Association of Victims of Uphaar Fire Tragedy (AVUT), which filed the landmark civil compensation case.
It won ₹25 crore (equivalent to ₹53 crore or US$7.1 million in 2020) in compensation for the families of the victims. The case is now considered a breakthrough in civil compensation law in India.
In 2003, it was discovered that the Ansal brothers had tampered with several important documents relating to the case with the help of a court official for which they were awarded 7-year sentences for tampering with evidence.
In January, the Patiala House Court directed the Delhi Police to procure/obtain requisite sanctions from the concerned authority to prosecute businessman Sushil Ansal in alleged fraud in passport renewal. Sushil Ansal along with his brother and several others are presently lodged in Tihar jail after sentencing and conviction by a court.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for the Ansals, submitted that no judicial system considers the primary conviction as final.
"There is a need to adopt a larger view and not a tactical one... it was alleged that I delayed the trial which is not true. We had challenged the summoning order on the charge, even during that period, trial was not stayed," he said, denying that there was real evidence of tampering with documents. The Ansals had also asked for reprieve on the basis of their age.