By IANS
New Delhi : Real estate tycoons Sushil and Gopal Ansal were sentenced to two years in prison and a fine of Rs.5,000 each by a city court Friday after being found guilty in the Uphaar theatre fire that killed 59 people 10 years ago.
The Ansals, owners of Uphaar theatre, were later released on bail after furnishing a personal bond of Rs.25,000 each.
Pronouncing the judgement, Additional Sessions Judge Mamta Sehgal issued directions to the government to give licences only after proper inspections of public places.
“In future proper care should be taken by government officials while issuing licences to public places and high rise buildings to avoid tragedies like Uphaar,” stated the judge.
The court also gave a similar sentence to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials Shyam Sunder Sharma and N.D. Tiwari and a Delhi Fire Service officer H.S. Panwar. They were also released on bail.
“Incidents like these shake the confidence of the citizens, so to avoid it care should be taken as this is the basic essence of democracy,” the judge stated.
The court has charged Sushil and Gopal Ansal under section 304 A of the Indian Penal Code (causing death by negligence), 337 (causing hurt by act endangering life), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life) and section 14 of Cinematographic Act. Similar charges were imposed on Tiwari, Pawar and Sharma.
The other seven convicted Radhakrishnan Sharma, Nirmal Singh Chopra, Ajit Chaudhary, Manmohan Unniyal, Brij Mohan, Anand Kumar Gera and Vir Singh were sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs.5,000 each. They had been charged under section 304 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) read with section 36.
They have been taken into custody.
The tragedy at the cinema occurred during the screening of the film “Border” on June 13, 1997 when a fire broke out in the basement of the theatre when an overheated generator burst. The deaths were mainly due to asphyxiation.
Originally, 16 people were named accused in the case, but four of them have died in the last 10 years. The trial was expedited following a direction from the Delhi High Court to conclude the hearing by August 2007.
On Aug 21, the verdict was reserved for Sep 5, which had to be rescheduled to Nov 20 owing to the volume of documents in the case and the submission of the accused that they wanted to place their rebuttal to the Central Bureau of Investigation’s arguments. While the trial court and high court had rejected their plea, the Supreme Court allowed them to place additional arguments on record.
Investigations into the case had been handed over to the CBI from Delhi Police.
In the charge sheet filed on Nov 15, 2001, the agency held the Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and the licensing authority responsible for failing to follow the rules. The Ansals were accused of violating building rules. The CBI also accused Delhi Fire Service officials of issuing a no-objection certificate without adequate inspection of the cinema hall.
The trial, during which the CBI examined 115 witnesses, also had some controversial moments when a court staff was dismissed from service for tampering with the documents.