Delhi Court grants interim bail to one convict in Uphaar fire tragedy
Nov 20, 2021
New Delhi [India], November 20 : In an interim relief, a Delhi Court on Saturday granted two-days interim bail to one of the convicts in a case relating to the tampering with the crucial evidence in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy, to attend his niece engagement ceremony.
Additional Sessions Judge Anil Antil asked Dinesh Chandra Sharma, a convict to furnish a personal bond and surety bond of Rs 50,000 and mobile phone, which shall remain operational during the period of his interim bail.
The court suspended his sentence for two days from November 21 and November 22 and allowed him to attend the engagement ceremony of his niece.
The sessions court currently hearing appeals of convicts challenging a magistrate Court order. Earlier a magistrate Court sentenced seven years jail terms to convicts including businessman Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal and others.
Delhi's Patiala House Court had earlier convicted businessmen Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal along with their two employees among others in the case related to tampering with the crucial evidence in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case.
The Court had found all accused guilty under sections 409, 201, 120B of IPC and pronounced the order.
Along with the Ansal brothers, a court staff Dinesh Chand Sharma and other individuals PP Batra, Har Swaroop Panwar, Anoop Singh, and Dharamvir Malhotra were booked in the tampering of evidence case.
Out of seven accused, two accused Har Swaroop Panwar and Dharamvir Malhotra died during the course of the trial.
The district court earlier had ordered framing of charges against seven accused of abetment of offence, causing disappearance of evidence, criminal breach of trust by a public servant, and criminal conspiracy.
Sushil and Gopal Ansal had earlier approached the High Court challenging the charges framed against them for tampering with evidence.
Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa has appeared in the matter for the complainant Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT). While Senior Advocate Pramod Kr Dubey and Advocate Tanveer Ahmad Mir appeared for the Ansal brothers in the matter.
Final arguments lasted for consecutive 40 days in the matter. The prosecution was represented by AT Ansari, the public prosecutor.
The members of the association are either those who were injured in the fire or are relatives of those who were injured or killed in the fire.
At least 59 people died of asphyxia and over 100 others were injured in the stampede after fire broke out in Uphaar cinema on June 13, 1997, during the screening of JP Dutta's film 'Border'.
