Uphaar Case: SC quashes bail to Ansal brothers

NI Wire

New Delhi

Thu, 11 Sep 2008: 

The Supreme Court on Wednesday (Sep 10), quashing the bail granted by Delhi High Court to Ansal brothers and two others convicted in the Uphaar fire tragedy case, ordered for their immediate arrest. The June 13, 1997 incident had claimed 59 lives and left over 100 injured when a fire broke out in the Uphaar cinema hl.

The apex court has directed the surrender of Ansal brothers - Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal – and former managers of the theatre Ajit Chaudhary and NS Chopra by Thursday evening.

The Supreme Court bench comprising Justices B N Aggarwal and G S Singhvi was hearing the petition of the Uphaar tragedy victims, the Association of the Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) who had challenged the bail granted to them.

The Ansal brothers- the owners of the Uphaar Theatre located in Green Park, South Delhi were granted two years imprisonment while Chaudhary and Chopra were handed down a seven-year term by a trial court on November 20, 2007. But on January 4, 2008 the Delhi High Court had granted bail to them.

The Ansals were convicted for the act of ‘causing death by negligence’ while Chopra and Chaudhary were charged under ‘culpable homicide not amounting to murder’.

The bench observed: ‘The trail court is hearing the charges of tampering of evidence against them which is worse than the charges of murder and dacoity. And hence it is viable to cancel their bail though they are convicted in a bailable offence’.

The court also denied bail to two others, Manmohan Unniyal, the gatekeeper, and Brij Mohan Satija, a Delhi Vidyut Board official — both sentenced to two years in jail.

AVUT president Neelam Krishnamoorthy reacted after the judgement saying that even though trial court convicted Ansals they were immediately granted bail without serving a single day in jail. However, the Wednesday verdict would keep alive our faith on judiciary.