Uphaar Case:Victims’ Association seeks modification of SC order setting Sushil Ansal free

The Supreme Court might not have put as final an end to the Uphaar case as it had thought. After Gopal Ansal, the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy has now moved the Supreme Court..The case was mentioned in Court 1 by Senior Advocate KTS Tulsi before a Bench of Chief Justice J S Khehar, Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justice Sanjay Kishen Kaul..The petition has been filed to seek a modification of the final judgment and order in the case, insofar as the sentence of imprisonment of Sushil Ansal was reduced to the period undergone. The petition also requests the Court to direct Sushil Ansal to surrender immediately and finish the reminder of his sentence of one year. .The petition takes obvious issue with the old age card played by the Ansals, and observes, .“[The Ansals’] sole argument at every point has been confined to the ruse of old age, which can never be a ground for indulgence in reducing the sentence of a convict. In other words, the sole ground for seeking indulgence of reducing sentence to the period undergone was only due to the prolonged trial faced by him which has rendered Sushil Ansal old. .It is respectfully submitted that as per the settled principles of law on sentencing as laid down by this Hon’ble Court mandates that mere old age cannot be the sole criteria for reducing sentence awarded. In this behalf, reference may be made to the judgments reported as (2016) 1 SCC 583.”.The petition also notes that the prolonged trial in the case was the result of deliberate dilatory tactics of Sushil Ansal himself and therefore he could not claim the benefit of old age after having deliberately dragged the proceedings for two decades..The case is now posted for March 8 along with Gopal Ansal’s plea to be treated at par with his elder brother, who was allowed to skip prison citing old age.