This story is from January 23, 2015

Uphaar tragedy: SC to decide punishment for Ansals in April

The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would decide in April the quantum of punishment for Ansal brothers, who were convicted for contributory negligence in the June 13, 1997 Uphaar cinema theatre fire in which 59 people were killed and over 100 injured.
Uphaar tragedy: SC to decide punishment for Ansals in April
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday said it would decide in April the quantum of punishment for Ansal brothers, who were convicted for contributory negligence in the June 13, 1997 Uphaar cinema theatre fire in which 59 people were killed and over 100 injured.
A bench of Justices T S Thakur and Gyan Sudha Misra had on March 5 last year held the Ansal brothers — Sushil and Gopal — guilty of negligence contributing to the fire but the judges were split on the quantum of sentence.

After nearly 18 years, the only solace for the families of the victims was the concurrence of Justices Thakur and Misra over the guilt of the Ansal brothers, owners of the theatre, under Section 304A of Indian Penal Code for negligent acts which impeded speedy evacuation of patrons after fire engulfed it. The bench had referred the decision on quantum of punishment to another bench to be constituted by the Chief Justice of India.
Nearly a year after the split verdict on sentence, a bench of Chief Justice H L Dattu and Justices A K Sikri and R K Agrawal took into account the request of early hearing made by Association for Victims of Uphaar Tragedy through Neelam Krishnamurthy and CBI, which investigated the case, and posted it for adjudication in April.
In the March 5 judgment, Justice Thakur had agreed with the Delhi High Court which had convicted Ansals but reduced the trial court-imposed sentence of two years' imprisonment to one year. Justice Thakur had said it was evident that the Ansal brothers not only showed scant regard for the safety of patrons by putting up extra seats, crowding the aisle for some extra money, but also endangered their safety by making structural changes in the theatre.

Both the judges - Justices Thakur and Misra - lamented the long judicial delay in giving finality to the case. Justice Misra took into account the enormity of the tragedy and said two years' imprisonment to the Ansal brothers would serve the ends of justice.
Though Justice Misra said Sushil Ansal need not undergo further imprisonment because of his ill health, she had decided to set off additional one year sentence imposed by her if the two Ansal brothers agreed to pay Rs 50 crore each as compensation to set up a Rs 100 crore trauma centre in Dwarka in south-west Delhi, terming the area as accident-prone. She had directed the government to allot a five-acre plot for the purpose and even constituted a committee to oversee construction of the trauma centre in memory of the Uphaar tragedy victims.
The SC's decision on quantum of punishment would be interesting to watch given the stringent punishment awarded last year by a trial court to convicts in the Kumbhakonam school fire of 2004 in which 94 children were killed. The trial court had awarded life term to the principal and 10 years' imprisonment to the school owner.
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