This Article is From Jan 08, 2016

Uphaar Fire: Supreme Court Agrees To Reconsider Jail For Ansals

The Court will hear the review petitions of the Central Bureau of Investigations and Uphaar victims association in the open court.

New Delhi: Whether Gopal and Sushil Ansal, builders of the Uphar cinema in Delhi where nearly 60  people died in a fire in 1997, should be jailed will be reconsidered by the Supreme Court.

In August, the court fined the brothers Rs 30 crores each, finding them guilty of charges that include criminal negligence, but controversially decided they would not be jailed, in part because of their age.

Both are senior citizens, and were imprisoned briefly when they were much younger, then released as they appealed against their conviction by a  lower court.  

Fifty-nine people had died, most of them choking to death, and 103 were injured, when a fire began at the cinema. Basic safety laws had been broken by the builders - exit doors, for example, were blocked to accommodate more seats than allowed.

The Supreme Court's verdict excusing the Ansals from bail has been challenged by the CBI, which investigated the case, as well as a group of those who lost their relatives in the fire.

That organization is headed by Neelam Krishnamurthy, whose young children died at Uphaar; she has campaigned extensively for stiff punishment for the real estate moguls.
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