Anushka Sharma-
Published on: December 04, 2021 at 19: 48 IST
Sushil and Gopal Ansal, real estate billionaires, had asked a Delhi Court to suspend their seven-year prison sentences for tampering with evidence in the 1997 case of the Uphaar cinema fire, which killed 59 people.
An Appeal filed by the Ansals against their conviction and sentence by a Magisterial Court was dismissed by Additional Sessions Judge Anil Antil, who also refused to release them on Bail.
In addition to contesting their convictions and sentences, Ansals had requested that their sentences be suspended pending the outcome of their Appeal.
The lawsuit stems from evidence tampering in the primary fire tragedy case, which claimed 59 lives and in which the Ansals were found guilty and sentenced to a two-year prison sentence by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court, on the other hand, released them on the condition that they pay a fine of Rs 30 crore each, which will be used to create a trauma centre in the national capital.
Former court clerk Dinesh Chand Sharma and two others – P P Batra and Anoop Singh – were also sentenced to seven years in prison and fined Rs 3 lakh each by the Magisterial Court.
The Ansals were also fined Rs. 2.25 crore each by the court.
On June 13, 1997, a fire broke out at the Uphaar cinema during a screening of the Hindi film ‘Border,’ killing 59 people.
The lawsuit was filed at the request of AVUT chairperson Neelam Krishnamoorthy, who had filed a petition with the Delhi High Court.