Uphaar case: HC upholds conviction of Ansal brothers

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI) The Delhi High Court Friday
upheld a trial court's order convicting real estate barons
Sushil and Gopal Ansal for the Uphaar fire tragedy which
killed 59 cinegoers in 1997.

However, the High Court reduced the jail term of Ansal
brothers, who own the cinema hall, from two to one year.

Justice S Ravinder Bhat who pronounced the verdict in a
jam-packed court rejected the plea of the Association of
Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) to enhance the jail term
awarded to the Ansal brothers and other convicts awarded a
punishment less than the cinema owners.

The High Court also upheld the conviction of four accused
H S Panwar (Delhi Fire Service Staff), Brij Mohan Satija, Bir
Singh (both DVB officials) and Manmoham Unniyal (gatekeeper of
the cinema hall) but reduced their jail terms.

While jail terms of Satija, Singh and Unniyal were
reduced from seven years to two years, Panwar's sentence was
reduced from two to one year.

The five other accused -- Radhakrishan Sharma, N S
Chopra, (both Uphaar cinema managers), A K Ghera (DVB
official), S S Sharma and N D Tiwari (both MCD officials) --
were acquitted by the High Court.

Another cinema manager, Ajit Chowdhary, who was sentenced
to seven years had died recently in Tihar jail. The
proceedings against him was abated.

The High Court pulled up the CBI for not carrying out
investigations against senior officials of Municipal
Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) and
directed the agency to complete the probe against them by
March 15 next year.

It said that there were glaring lapses on the part
of MCD, DVB and the licencing authority and their officers who
were not made accused in the case.

The High Court expressed its anguish against the CBI
as no progress was made by the agency in the last one year
since the trial court directed it for further investigation in
the case.

It was unhappy that only lower-level officials had faced
charges in the case and one accused even died in the jail.

However, while rejecting the petition of AVUT for
enhancement of sentence of the Ansal brothers and others, the
High Court said "it is unreasonable".

The Ansal brothers, who were sentenced to two-year jail
term by the trial court for causing death due to rash and
negligent act, are presently lodged in Tihar jail as the
Supreme Court on September 11 had cancelled the bail granted
to them by the High Court.

The cinema owners were represented by noted criminal
lawyer Ram Jethmalani while senior advocate Harish Salve
argued for the CBI in the High Court.

The agency had contended that the trial court had adopted
a lenient approach towards the Ansal brothers and they should
be punished under section 304 part-II of IPC that deals with
culpable homicide not amounting to murder which is punishable
upto 10 years of imprisonment.

On June 13, 1997 59 cinegoers, including women and
children, were killed due to asphyxia in a devastating fire
that broke out in the cinema hall during screening of Hindi
film "Border".

The trial court on November 20 last year had held the
Ansal brothers guilty, along with three others, under Section
304-A IPC (causing death due to rash and negligent act) and
had sentenced them to two years' imprisonment.

Seven others including two theatre managers, Ajit
Chowdhary and Nirmal Chopra, were convicted under Section 304
IPC (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and sentenced
to seven years' jail.

Others who were convicted under the same section were
R K Sharma, Manmohan Unniyal (cinema's gatekeeper), Brij Mohan
Satija, A K Gera and Bir Singh (all DVB officials).

The High Court on January 4 had granted bail to the
Ansal brothers and two other accused. PTI SJK
PMR
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