Almost two decades after the Uphaar fire tragedy, the families of the 59 victims continue to seek justice. On the 19th anniversary of the horrific incident, they are appealing the Apex Court to take up their petition. The petition wants the court to review last year’s verdict which has allowed the convicted owners of the theatre, the Ansal brothers, Sushil and Gopal, to walk free by paying Rs 60 crore to the Delhi government.
Neelam Krishnamurthy, president of the Association of Victims of the Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) lost her two teenage children in the tragedy. Speaking to Millennium Post, she said: “We are requesting the Apex Court to take up our petition to review the judgment passed on August 20, 2015, which allowed the Ansal brothers to avoid a jail term by paying a sum of Rs 60 crore.” She added that the review petition was scheduled for a hearing on January 6 by the SC has not been heard.
The fire broke out at the Uphaar theatre on 13 June, 1997, during an evening screening of the film Border. Fifty nine people lost their lives due to suffocation and more than 100 were injured when people were scampering out of the dark theatre through the extremely narrow gangways and horribly lit exit gates. In November 2007, a trial court sentenced the owners to two years of prison.
The Delhi High Court in 2008, however, reduced the punishment to one year. In August, 2015, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction of the duo but considering their age, the court made them pay Rs 30 crore each instead of a jail term.
“We hope that justice would be served so that there is a judicial closure for the victims’ families. We have fought for 19 years and we will continue to fight till justice is served,” added Krishnamurthy. Rajender Tanwar, who lost three brothers in the mishap, said: “Money should not determine the course of justice. However, in our case the rich have been able to evade what was coming for them. We are fighting to right precedent.”