Uphaar Cinema fire: Delhi HC dismisses suspension plea of Ansal brothers of seven years jail term

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday refused to suspend real estate tycoons Sushil and Gopal Ansal's seven-year prison sentence for tampering with evidence in the case related to the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire, which killed 59 people.

As per Justice Subramonium Prasad, the court has denied the Ansal brothers' applications.

Since November 2021, the Ansal's brothers have been jailed. A trial court sentenced them to seven-year imprisonment and a Rs 2.25 crore fine each. They still have an option of Supreme Court. 

The court sentenced businessmen Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal and their two employees to tampering with critical evidence in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case.

With Ansal brothers, others including a court staff named Dinesh Chand Sharma, PP Batra, Har Swaroop Panwar, Anoop Singh, and Dharamvir Malhotra were also booked for tampering with evidence case.

Nearly 59 people died due to asphyxia, and over 100 were injured in the stampede after the fire broke out in Uphaar cinema on June 13, 1997. During the screening of JP Dutta's film 'Border'.

The case drew a lot of attention because of the property owners' high profile, and parents of young people who died in the fire banded together to sue the Ansals in court. The Ansal brothers were subjected to a protracted legal battle that ranged from allegations of negligence to homicide.

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