#Uphaar: Supreme Court partially allows review, sentences Gopal Ansal to one-year imprisonment

The Supreme Court, in a majority judgment of 2:1, has decided to send real estate baron Gopal Ansal back to jail for a year in the 1997 Uphaar Cinema fire case. The Court directed him to surrender within a period of four weeks..The Bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, Kurian Joseph and AK Goel, however, spared older brother Sushil Ansal jail time in view of his advanced age, but upheld the compensation of Rs. 30 crore which is to be paid by each brother..Noting that the fine was in no way “excessive”, the Bench also observed,.“Having regard to the gravity of the offence and the illegal gains made by the accused, the fine imposed to the tune of Rs.60 crores is not excessive. However, there is no provision under the IPC for substitution of sentence by fine.”.Today’s order was passed on separate review petitions filed by the CBI and the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT). The review was against a 2015 judgment delivered by the three-judge Bench presided over by Justice Anil Dave, which had allowed the Ansals to walk free after directing them to pay a total compensation of Rs. 60 crore. That Bench had opined that there was nothing “frutiful” in sending the duo to jail..The Uphaar cinema tragedy occurred in 1997 in Delhi’s well-heeled Green Park area, where 59 people died after a fire broke out in the theatre owned by the Ansal brothers. From the trial stage till the final appeal, all courts had concluded that the builders had broken basic safety laws. Exit doors, for example, were blocked to accommodate more seats than allowed, causing people to die of asphyxiation inside the theatre..The Delhi High Court upheld the trial court order convicting Ansal brothers but reduced their sentence from two years to one year..In the appeal, the Supreme Court judges differed on punishment. Former CJI TS Thakur awarded one year, while Justice Gyan Sudha Misra sentenced Ansals to two years. The matter was therefore, referred to a three-judge bench which had directed payment of compensation of Rs. 60 crore but held that Ansals need not undergo any further jail-term..The majority decision today was passed by Justices Ranjan Gogoi and Kurian Joseph. Justice AK Goel dissented in favour of the 2015 judgment. Both Justices Kurian Joseph and AK Goel were part of the earlier Bench led by Justice Dave, who retired in November last year.