By IANS
New Delhi : A Delhi court Monday will deliver on Nov 20 its verdict on alleged lapses by the real estate tycoons Ansal brothers and 10 others in the June 1997 fire tragedy in Uphaar cinema here in which 59 people were killed.
The date was announced after Additional Sessions Judge Mamta Sehgal acceded to a request by both the prosecution and defence to fix “an exact date.”
Earlier she had said she would pronounce the verdict “around Nov 16”, but fixed Nov 20 following counsel’s plea.
The judge rejected the pleas by Gopal and Sushil Ansal to file their rejoinder to the reply of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on their written arguments submitted to the court earlier.
On Sep 5, the judge had refused to accept their written arguments, saying she would not entertain them as she had already reserved the verdict in the case.
This had triggered another three-tier court battle, with the apex court finally allowing the Ansal brothers to file their written submissions early this month.
Sehgal had reserved the verdict on Aug 21.
Four of the accused had died during the pendency of the trial in the case in which CBI had examined 115 witnesses. The trial also witnessed some controversy when a court employee was dismissed for tampering with the court documents allegedly at the instance of the main accused.
All the accused have been charged with causing death by negligence and endangering lives under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant provisions of the Cinematography Act, 1952.