[Uphaar Cinema] Delhi Court issues notice in Sushil, Gopal Ansal appeal against jail verdict

A Delhi Court on Wednesday issued notice in the appeal filed by Sushil Ansal, Gopal Ansal and another convict against the seven-year jail sentence handed to them in the Uphaar Cinema evidence tampering case.

. Additional Sessions Judge Anil Antil issued notice in the appeal filed by the Ansals and PP Batra against the Magistrate Court verdict, and posted the hearing on November 15.

The Ansals and others were convicted and sentenced to the seven year jail term for offences under Sections 120B ( criminal conspiracy ), 409 ( criminal breach of trust by public servant ) and 201 ( causing disappearance of evidence ) of the Indian Penal Code.

. The Ansal brothers were fined ₹2.25 crore each apart from being awarded the jail term. Other convicts Batra, Dinesh Chandra Sharma and Anoop Singh Karayat were awarded the same jail term but slapped with a ₹3 lakh fine each.

The Magistrate Court had on November 8 passed the judgment observing that the foundation of the judiciary is premised on the trust and confidence of the people and any action which is aimed to thwart it is required to be dealt with the utmost strictness.

. The case arose from a devastating fire that took place in Uphaar Cinema on June 13, 1997 that took 59 lives and left several people injured. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), after completing its investigation, submitted a chargesheet against Sushil Ansal, Gopal Ansal and other accused.

An inquiry was ordered by a court in 2003 after some documents related to the Uphaar tragedy case went missing from the court record room. Upon conclusion of the inquiry, the court employee was dismissed.

While the trial was at a sufficiently advanced stage, the public prosecutor noticed that several important documents that had been seized by the Investigating Officer and filed along with the chargesheet were either missing from the record or had been tampered with.

The Court concluded that the critical documents that could prove the Ansal brothers' complicity in the crime were destroyed by them in conspiracy with other accused persons.

. Senior Advocate Vikas Pahwa and Advocate Raavi Sharma represented the complainant Neelam Krishnamurthy and Association of the Victims of Uphaar Tragedy.

Additional Public Prosecutor AT Ansari represented the State.

Senior Advocate P K Dubey represented Gopal Ansal.

Advocate Tanvir Ahmad Mir along with Advocates Dhruv Gupta, Siddharth Kashyap, Shivaz Berry and Vaibhav Suri appeared for Sushil Ansal.

Advocate Manu Sharma along with Advocates Ridhima Mandhar and Varun Kumar appeared for PP Batra.

.[Uphaar Cinema Fire] Delhi court sentences Ansal brothers to 7 years imprisonment, ₹2.25 crore fine for tampering with evidence

[Uphaar Cinema] Delhi Court issues notice in Sushil, Gopal Ansal appeal against jail verdict

Aamir Khan

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