Uphaar convict's plea rejected

The Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea by real estate baron Gopal Ansal, against an order sentencing him to one year jail in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case.

A three-judge bench presided over by Justice Ranjan Gogoi granted him time till March 20 to surrender to serve the remaining period of sentence as the CBI did not oppose his plea and left it to the court’s discretion.

Gopal, 69, has served six months and eight days in judicial custody. His time to surrender to serve the remaining period expired on Thursday. As many as 59 people were killed due to asphyxiation during the screening of Hindi movie Border in the cinema hall.