By IANS
New Delhi : A city court Tuesday convicted real estate tycoons Sushil and Gopal Ansal and 10 others in the Uphaar cinema fire tragedy in 1997 in which 59 people died, but the 28 families of the victims are disappointed as the charges carry only up to two years in jail.
Additional Sessions Judge Mamta Sehgal convicted all the 12 accused in the long delayed case and will pronounce the quantum of sentence Wednesday after hearing the arguments from the prosecution and defence sides.
Gopal and Sushil Ansal, the owners of Uphaar cinema in south Delhi who are one of the country’s biggest real estate developers, were convicted under Section 304 A (causing death by negligence) of the Indian Penal Code, which invites a maximum punishment of two years in jail.
Civic officials Shyam Sunder Sharma and N.D. Tiwari and Delhi Fire Service Officer H.S. Panwar were also found guilty under the same section.
The remaining accused, Radha Krishnan Sharma, Nirmal Singh Chopra, Ajit Chaudhary, Manmohan Unniyal, Brij Mohan, Anand Kumar Gera and Vir Singh, were convicted under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) read with Section 36.
The case pertains to the tragedy that occurred on June 13, 1997 when a fire broke out at the south Delhi cinema hall during a screening of the film “Border”. A transformer installed in the basement of the theatre had caught fire and all those who died were caught in the fumes and were asphyxiated as the exit doors got jammed.
The victims’ kin, who had struggled for justice for 10 long years, were disappointed.
“Even if the punishment comes to two years, it would roughly work out to 12 days (of imprisonment) per deceased,” said Neelam Krishnamurthy, who lost her two children Ujwal and Unnati. She also heads the Association of Victims Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT).
She said: “The Ansals had full knowledge of the lapses in the cinema hall and those provisions of law which invite life imprisonment should have been invoked against them.”
Dubbing the judgement as a “mockery of justice”, she added: “You give a death sentence for killing one person and for killing 59 people how could you (convict accused under sections which) give two years? That is something I cannot understand.”
Krishnamurthy said the association was not satisfied with the verdict and will approach the high court.
However, her husband Shekhar Krishnamurthy added: “We had to face threats, intimidation and harassment for the last 10 years. My children will not return, but the verdict has shown the way. Justice has prevailed and money power has been defeated.”
A teary-eyed Nanak Chand said soon after the verdict: “I have lost my elder son in the tragedy and the other son in a road accident in 2003. I have fought for justice for 10 years for my elder son and now I will fight for another 10 years or so for my younger son.”
His sentiments were echoed by Durgadas, another father who lost his son in the tragedy.
“I have been waiting for the past 10 years, five months and eight days to get justice. Our children will only rest in peace when the Ansal brothers get life imprisonment,” he said.
Vikas, who lost his father, said: “We are happy but not satisfied. My father was the sole breadwinner for my family. We want complete justice.”
“There is some solace today but we were expecting a tough punishment,” said Tarika Sharma, who lost both her daughters.
But Prem Kumar, counsel for the Ansals, said: “The Ansal brothers are innocent as they had nothing to do with the day-to-day running of the cinema hall when the unfortunate incident took place. We will avail of all the rights afforded by law.”
K.T.S. Tulsi, a noted lawyer, insisted: “The judgement is a complete shock for the legal community. A punishment of two years for taking 59 lives is nothing. The accused should be taken into custody soon after the conviction order came but surprisingly it did not happened in this case.”
Originally, 16 people were named as accused, but four of them died since.
The Ansal brothers delayed the hearing by moving the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court on several legal counts, including the compensation to be given to the victims’ families.
The trial was expedited after the high court directed that it should be concluded by August 2007.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) examined 115 witnesses, including eight relatives of the Ansals who later turned hostile.