A Delhi court on November 8 sentenced real estate barons and owners of Uphaar cinema in Delhi, Gopal and Sushil Bansal, to seven years in jail for tampering with evidence in the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire tragedy which claimed 59 lives. The chief metropolitan magistrate court in Delhi said, the circumstances in which the crime was committed showed the deep disrespect which the convicts had for the law, judicial process and victims.
A fine of Rs. 2.25 crore was also imposed on each of the Ansal brothers, which amount would be paid as compensation to the victims after disbursing the cost incurred by the prosecution.
“No amount of compensation can alleviate the agony, trauma and pain suffered by the family members of the victims, (but) compensation in the form of money can provide some succour to them,” magistrate Pankaj Sharma said. He added, “Victims eagerly wait for the trial outcome, and any assault that derails it is an injury on their mind as it causes immense mental trauma and pain to them. The foundation of the judiciary is premised on the trust and confidence of people, and any action aimed to thwart it cannot be permitted and is required to be dealt with utmost strictness.”
Three former court staffers were also sentenced to imprisonment for seven years, and a fine of Rs. 3 lakh was imposed on each of them. The Ansal brothers, along with five others, including the then court staff, had torn, defaced and obliterated crucial documents of the prosecution evidence to secure their acquittal. They had been convicted in the main matter.
After the order was pronounced, all the convicts were taken into custody, and the judge said, it was one of the longest cases of his judicial career. “It is very hard to reach a decision, given the complexities involved, but I have come to this decision that they deserve punishment,” said the CMM. Although the convicts said that they were remorseful, repentant and reformed, and were seeking forgiveness, the judge observed that the regrets offered were hollow, and their aim was to escape punishment.
It may be recalled that 59 people had died in a fire which broke out in South Delhi’s Uphaar cinema during the screening of Border 24 years ago — on June 13, 1997. The CBI filed a chargesheet against 16 persons including cinema owners Sushil and Gopal Ansal on November 15 the same year. On January 13, 2003, the CBI told the court that key papers had been tampered with. The trial court on November 20, 2007 convicted 12 persons including the Ansal brothers, handing them a two-year jail term in the main case. The Supreme Court on March 5, 2014 upheld the conviction of the Ansal brothers but the judges differed on the quantum of sentence. On February 9, 2017, the apex court sent Gopal Ansal to one year in jail, and gave relief to Sushil, handing him the jail term already served.