NEW DELHI: Giving relief to industrialists Sushil and Gopal Ansal, the Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a plea seeking reconsideration of its verdict that enabled them to escape jail term in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case.
A bench headed by CJI S A Bobde dismissed the curative petition filed by the Association of the Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) seeking enhancement of the Ansal brothers’ punishment, saying it found no merit in the plea.
The real estate barons were owners of the Uphaar cinema hall, where 59 people were charred to death during the screening of the movie Border 23 years ago. Ansal brothers were held guilty of criminal negligence and were asked to pay `30 crore each. The SC had ruled in 2015 that a penalty of `60 crore was adequate punishment and they were not required to go back to jail. The duo had served jail terms between four to five months during the legal battle. AVUT’s Neelam Krishnamoorthy, who lost her two children in the blaze, said “justice is a luxury which is available only to the rich and powerful in this country”.