By IANS
New Delhi : They had waited for this day for more than a decade. Yet, when the court deferred its verdict in the Uphaar cinema fire tragedy case by a month-and-a-half Wednesday, the bereaved family members of the 59 victims stood put, disappointed but not ready to give up.
“We waited for 10 long years. We are used to disappointments and court adjournments. But we will not give up. When we have waited for 10 years and three months, another two months doesn’t make a difference,” Shekhar Krishnamoorthy, father of Unnati and Ujjwal who were among the victims, told IANS.
Additional Sessions Judge Mamta Sehgal, who had fixed Sep 5 for delivering the long awaited verdict, deferred it till Oct 22. On Aug 21, she had reserved her judgement after conclusion of arguments by all parties.
“I was in the court today. The additional sessions judge, Mamta Sehgal, said that the documents are very voluminous and that more time would be taken to go through it. Hence the verdict has been deferred by nearly two months,” said Naveen Sahni.
Sahni, who lost his 21-year-old daughter to the tragedy, seemed to have built a shield around him over the course of 10 years, one which insulates him from all sorts of disappointments.
“We understand, the documents are voluminous. They must be 40,000 to 50,000 pages. We had come prepared to face anything, but there was a flickering hope within… when we have waited for so long, then two months more doesn’t matter,” Sahni said.
M.L. Sehgal, father of 21-year-old Vikas Sehgal who died while trying to flee the hall on June 13, 1997, echoed him: “We won’t give up, until our last breath. This delay is very small compared to what we have endured for 10 years.”
“The date of the verdict will be announced on Oct 22. But that will not be delayed much. Mamta Sehgal, the additional sessions judge, has assured us that the verdict will be delivered by the end of October,” Krishnamoorthy said.
“We just hope that our loved ones, our children get justice. That’s all we are hoping for,” he added.