NEW DELHI: After the Supreme Court refused to grant more time to Gopal Ansal, on Monday evening he surrendered before Delhi’s Tihar jail authorities to undergo one-year jail term in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case.
A bench comprising Chief Justice J S Khehar and Justices D Y Chandrachud and S K Kaul on Monday rejected the plea moved by the real estate baron seeking more time to surrender on the ground that he has moved a mercy plea before the President, and had asked him to surrender by this evening.
"Ansal surrendered around 5:30 pm and currently lodged in the hospital at Jail No. 3 as he complained of some health issues," said a jail official.
The bench said, "Sorry, we can't," when senior advocate Ram Jethmalani mentioned the matter and sought more time, telling the court that they have already approached the President with their mercy plea. The apex court also rejected the plea from the senior advocate seeking a direction for speedy disposal of his mercy plea, pending before the President, saying that it cannot interfere in it as it is an exclusive jurisdiction of the President.
The apex court, on March 9, had dismissed Ansal's petition for parity with his elder brother Sushil Ansal, who was awarded jail term already undergone by him considering his "age-related complications", and directed him to surrender by Monday to serve the prison term.
69-year-old Gopal Ansal was in jail earlier for around four-and-a-half-month in connection with the case relating to the June 13, 1997 fire tragedy in which 59 persons had died in Uphaar cinema during the screening of Hindi movie 'Border'. Over 100 people were injured in the subsequent stampede.