Uphaar fire tragedy: Businessman Sushil Ansal moves Delhi HC against web series 'Trial by Fire'

New Delhi [India], January 10 : Businessman Sushil Ansal has filed a suit in Delhi High Court against the upcoming Web series 'Trial By Fire' based on the 1997 Uphar Cinema tragedy.
Sushil Ansal, a known Businessman who was convicted in the case, through suit seeking a permanent and mandatory injunction restraining the Production company and others from releasing the limited web series titled 'Trial By Fire' which is slated for release on January 13, 2023, on the OTT platform of Netflix.
Netflix's upcoming series Trial By Fire is based on the bestselling book, Trial By Fire: The Tragic Tale of the Uphaar Fire Tragedy by Neelam Krishnamoorthy and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy Starring Rajshri Deshpande and Abhay Deol as Neelam and Shekhar in the series.
Ansal also seeking restraint of further publication and circulation of the book titled 'Trial By Fire- The tragic tale of the Uphaar Tragedy' authored by Defendant(s) Neelam Krishnamoorthy and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy and published by Penguin Random House Ltd on which the Impugned Series is stated to be based.
The suit further stated that the Impugned Series is said to be based on true events pertaining to the tragic fire that took place on June 13, 1997, at Uphaar Cinema in Green Park, New Delhi ("said incident"). The official teaser/trailer for the impugned series was released on 04.01.2023 which shows direct references to the Plaintiff herein and the dramatized role of the Plaintiff in the said incident and its aftermath
The Suit is to be heard by Delhi High Court on Wednesday.
The portrayal of the Plaintiff in the trailer and teaser of the impugned series has caused and has the propensity to cause further immense and irreparable harm to the Plaintiff's (Sushil Ansal) reputation and his right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
Plaintiff states that the release of the impugned series will lead to further prejudice and harm to the Plaintiff and will be in grave breach of Plaintiff's fundamental rights, inter alia, to privacy as envisaged by the Constitution of India.
On January 4, 2023, the Plaintiff and his family were shocked and perturbed to come across a trailer on the OTT platform of Netflix announcing the release of the Impugned Series titled 'Trial by Fire' starring prominent actors, produced by Endemol India Pvt Ltd and House of Talkies. The official trailer of the Impugned Series was released on January 4, 2023.
On 13.06.1997 a fire broke out in the erstwhile Uphaar Cinema at Green Park, New Delhi owing to which 59 people lost their lives and over 100 were injured. A fire had broken out at the Uphaar cinema during the screening of the Hindi film 'Border'
Sushil Ansal alongwith his brother and several others were convicted by a court in a case related to the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire tragedy. Owners of the infamous Uphaar Cinema, Gopal and Sushil Ansal were sentenced to a year of prison after they were found guilty of causing deaths by negligence. However, the latter was pardoned due to his old age.