As many as 59 People were killed in the fire in June 1997. During the case trial in 2003, the lower court was told that certain important documents related to the case were “missing/mutilated and had been tampered with”.(Express Archive)Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy has approached Delhi High Court against the lower court’s decision to release real estate tycoons Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal after they spent eight months and 12 days in jail in the evidence tampering case connected with the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire. While the Ansals were sentenced to an imprisonment of seven years by a trial court, the sessions court in July reduced their sentence to the already undergone period.
As many as 59 People were killed in the fire in June 1997. During the case trial in 2003, the lower court was told that certain important documents related to the case were “missing/mutilated and had been tampered with”. The HC later directed the Delhi Police to investigate the evidence tampering. Last year, a lower court sentenced the Ansal brothers to seven years in prison for evidence tampering. The sessions court in appeal upheld the conviction but reduced their sentence.
In the revision petition filed before the HC, the victims’ association has said the decision of the Principal District & Sessions Judge on the sentence is contrary to the established principles of law and also ignores the “conduct and criminal antecedents” of the convicts.
“Through their acts, the accused have tried to meddle with the functioning of the judicial system and the impugned judgement fails to appreciate the gravity of the offences committed by them,” reads the petition, which will come up for hearing on September 5.
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The plea further contends that for the Ansal brothers, it was the second conviction and a repeat offence for which they deserve the maximum sentence.
“This is a case which shatters the confidence of the public at large in the criminal justice system, it requires a maximum sentence so that it works as a deterrent for others who even dream of tampering with the court record in future,” the association has said.
Prior to the sessions court’s decision to release the Ansal brothers in July, a single bench of the HC in February had refused to suspend their sentence. Justice Subramonium Prasad had observed that the brothers have been convicted of an “extremely serious offence” that can “shake the confidence” of the public in the judicial system,
With regard to an observation of the sessions court about kin of the victims, the association said, “It is highly disrespectful and insulting to record an observation against the victim suggesting that by initiating criminal process against the offenders, victim has taken an inhuman and vindictive approach. In fact, the judicial system should be thankful to such responsible members of the society.”