Uphaar fire tragedy: HC rejects plea by real estate barons in evidence tampering case

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday declined to suspend the seven-year jail term awarded to real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal in a case related to tampering of evidence with regard to the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy records.

Justice Subramonium Prasad rejected the plea by Ansal brothers.

Ansal brothers and former court staff Dinesh Chand Sharma and two others -- P P Batra and Anoop Singh Karayat - were awarded a seven-year jail term by a trial court and the sessions court had refused to suspend the sentence and release them on bail.

Justice Prasad allowed the plea for suspension of sentence by co-convict Anoop Singh Karayat.

While dismissing the Ansals' plea for suspension of sentence till the appeal against the conviction by magisterial court is decided, the sessions court had said that the case was one of the gravest of its kind and the offence appeared to be the outcome of a calculated design on the part of the convicts to interfere with the course of justice.

The duo were also fined Rs 2.25 crore fine each by a magisterial court in November, 2021.

Before the high court, the Ansal brothers, represented by senior lawyers Arvind Nigam, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and others, had sought suspension of sentence on several grounds including of their old age.

In the main case, the Ansals were convicted and sentenced to two-year jail term by the Supreme Court which subsequently released them on payment of Rs 30 crore fine each after taking into account the prison time they had done.

A devastating fire in Uphaar Cinema theatre at South Delhi on June 13, 1997 had claimed 59 lives and left scores others injured. The CBI, which investigated the case, had filed a charge sheet against the Ansal brothers. In 2003, it was found that some documents from the case files went missing, leading to dismissal of the court staff.

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