New Delhi Jan 27 PTI The Delhi High Court Thursday reserved its order on a plea by real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal seeking suspension of their seven-year jail term in the Uphaar cinema evidence tampering caseJustice Subramonium Prasad heard the arguments on behalf of counsel for Ansals another convicted person Anoop Singh Karayat Delhi Police and Association of the Victims of Uphaar Tragedy AVUTAnsals and former court staff Dinesh Chand Sharma and two others -- P P Batra and Anoop Singh Karayat were awarded a seven-year jail term by a trial court and the sessions court had refused to suspend the sentence and release them on bailWhile dismissing Ansals plea for suspension of sentence till the appeal against the conviction by a magisterial court is decided the sessions court had said that the case was one of the gravest of its kind and the offence appeared to be the outcome of a calculated design on the part of the convicts to interfere with the course of justiceSeeking to suspend the jail term the counsel for Sushil Ansal had contended before the high court that the mutilated documents were not even relevant to his culpability in the main Uphaar trial and his conviction in the evidence tampering case was a travesty of justiceHe had highlighted that Sushil Ansal was over 80 years of age and suffered from various ailmentsGopal Ansals counsel had also argued that his client was over 70 years of age and the court should exercise its wide and liberal discretion to release himThe plea was opposed by the Delhi Police and AVUTThe counsel for the police had argued that the petitioners mutilated vital documents which formed part of the trial record in the main Uphaar cinema case which forced the prosecution to record the secondary evidence in the main case and resulted in an enormous delay of trial court proceedingsHe had also claimed that the pandemic cannot be the basis to allow the prayers of the petitioners who no longer have the presumption of innocence in their favourAVUTs counsel had opposed the plea contending that the accused persons cannot be allowed to take law in their hands and claimed that the Ansals were incorrigible and that the instant matter pertained to majesty of the law and obstruction of justiceThe court was also informed that in the main case the petitioners were convicted and sentenced to a 2-year jail term by the Supreme Court which subsequently released them on payment of Rs 30 crore fine each after taking into account the prison time they had doneThe tampering was detected for the first time on July 20 2002 and when it was unearthed a departmental enquiry was initiated against Sharma and he was suspendedLater an enquiry was conducted and he was terminated from services on June 25 2004The magisterial court had also imposed a fine of Rs 225 crore each on the Ansals apart from imposing a seven-year jail term in the caseThe case was lodged on the direction of the Delhi High Court while hearing a petition by AVUT chairperson Neelam Krishnamoorthy PTI SKV SKV RKS RKS

New Delhi Jan 20 PTI Association of the Victims of Uphaar Tragedy AVUT on Thursday opposed before the Delhi High Court the release of real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal in the Uphaar cinema evidence tampering case in which they have been convicted and sentenced to the seven-year jail termSenior counsel for AVUT Vikas Pahwa told Justice Subramonium Prasad that he was ready for expeditious hearings on the appeals by the Ansal brothers against their conviction in the case and urged the judge to not suspend the sentence during its pendency before the sessions courtThe senior lawyer claimed that the Ansals were incorrigible and that the instant matter pertained to majesty of the law and obstruction of justiceHe contended that the petitioners tampered with evidence in conspiracy with court staff to seek the benefit of acquittal in the main Uphaar cinema trial and the accused persons cannot be allowed to take the law into their handsThe accused should not take law in their hands If they influential accused start doing this evidence tampering in connivance with the court staff what will happen Suspension may not be given Im ready for expeditious hearing on appeals Pahwa saidThe senior advocate opposed the grant of any relief to the petitioners on account of their old age and said that if the age is criteria then twenty-nine children died in this tragedyThe Ansals had filed petitions before the high court for suspension of their seven-year jail terms in the evidence tampering case after a sessions court here in December rejected their plea to suspend the conviction by a magisterial court and refused to release them on bailDelhi police have opposed the petitions arguing that the petitioners mutilated vital documents which formed part of the trial record in the main Uphaar cinema case which forced the prosecution to record the secondary evidence in the main case and resulted in an enormous delay of trial court proceedingsSpecial Public Prosecutor Dayan Krishnan had also claimed that the pandemic cannot be the basis to allow the prayers of the petitioners who no longer have the presumption of innocence in their favourSenior advocate Arvind Nigam representing Sushil Ansal had contended that the mutilated documents were not even relevant to his culpability in the main Uphaar trial and his conviction in the evidence tampering case was a travesty of justiceHe had submitted that Sushil Ansal was over 80 years of age and suffered from various ailmentsSenior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for Gopal Ansal had also argued that his client was over 70 years of age and the court should exercise its wide and liberal discretion to release himThe court was also informed that in the main case the petitioners were convicted and sentenced to a 2-year jail term by the Supreme Court which subsequently released them on payment of Rs 30 crore fine each after taking into account the prison time they had done While dismissing Ansals plea for suspension of sentence till the appeal against the conviction by a magisterial court is decided the sessions court had said that the case was one of the gravest of its kind and the offence appeared to be the outcome of a calculated design on the part of the convicts to interfere with the course of justiceThe sessions court had also refused to suspend the seven-year jail term each to former court staff Dinesh Chand Sharma and two others -- P P Batra and Anoop Singh Karayat -- in the case and release them on bailThe tampering was detected for the first time on July 20 2002 and when it was unearthed a departmental enquiry was initiated against Sharma and he was suspendedLater an enquiry was conducted and he was terminated from services on June 25 2004The magisterial court had also imposed a fine of Rs 225 crore each on the Ansals apart from imposing a seven-year term in the caseThe case was lodged on the direction of the Delhi High Court while hearing a petition by AVUT chairperson Neelam KrishnamoorthyThe matter would be heard next on January 25 PTI ADS RKS RKS

New Delhi Jan 19 PTI The Delhi Police Wednesday told the Delhi High Court that the orders convicting real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal in the Uphaar cinema evidence tampering case and refusing to release them during the pendency of the subsequent appeal were neither perverse nor shocking to warrant any interventionSpecial public prosecutor SPP Dayan Krishnan urged Justice Subramonium Prasad who was hearing petitions by the Ansal brothers and another convicted person Anoop Singh Karayat for suspension of the seven-year sentence to not interfere with the trial court orders He said that the evidence tampering case is related to the public confidence in the judicial system A reading of the judgements of the trial court on conviction and the appellate court on refusal to suspend sentence does not give a feeling that it is perverse and shocking to require interference the SPP saidThe senior advocate argued that the accused persons mutilated vital documents which formed part of the trial record in the main Uphaar cinema case with the belief that they would not be caught in order to save themselves from any liabilityThe judge said that in a case that has been going on for a long time justice must be swift if it is found that tampering was done and the appeals have to be decided quickly by the sessions courtThe issue is if in the meantime the persons who are found guilty by one court should be out he addedThe SPP who concluded his submissions on petitions opposed the release of the convicted persons and said that the pandemic cannot be the basis to allow the petitioners prayer as till date no policy decision has been taken by the concerned authorities on the release of inmates due to COVID-19 and no special place can be carved out for them The court said it would hear Association of the Victims of Uphaar Tragedy AVUT on the next date of hearing ie January 20Justice Prasad also asked the counsel appearing for the petitioners to answer in their rejoinder submissions how the court should deal with a case that involves tampering of record inside the court by the rich and powerfulAdvocate Tarun Chandiok appearing for Karayat said that his client was neither powerful nor rich and stands on a different footing from the AnsalsThe SPP argued that the instant matter pertained to the post-conviction stage and no relief should be granted to any of the convicts On the last occasion the Delhi Police had contended that there was no presumption of innocence in favour of Ansals who mutilated vital documents and forced the prosecution to record the secondary evidence in the main case which resulted in an enormous delay of trial court proceedingsIt had claimed that the Ansals who hatched a conspiracy with other co-accused to secure advantage in the main trial are still taking the benefit of the delay as they are now seeking suspension of sentence on account of their old ageThe Ansals and Karayat had filed petitions before the high court for suspension of their seven-year jail terms in the evidence tampering case after a sessions court here in December rejected their plea to suspend the conviction by a magisterial court and refused to release them on bailSenior advocate Arvind Nigam representing Sushil Ansal had contended that the mutilated documents were not even relevant to his culpability in the main Uphaar trial and his conviction in the evidence tampering case was a travesty of justiceHe had highlighted that Sushil Ansal was over 80 years of age and suffered from various ailmentsSenior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi appearing for Gopal Ansal had also argued that his client was over 70 years of age and the court should exercise its wide and liberal discretion to release himThe court was also informed that in the main case the petitioners were convicted and sentenced to a 2-year jail term by the Supreme Court which subsequently released them on payment of Rs 30 crore fine each after taking into account the prison time they had doneWhile dismissing Ansals plea for suspension of sentence till the appeal against the conviction by a magisterial court is decided the sessions court had said that the case was one of the gravest of its kind and the offence appeared to be the outcome of a calculated design on the part of the convicts to interfere with the course of justiceThe sessions court had also refused to suspend the seven-year jail term each to former court staff Dinesh Chand Sharma and two others -- P P Batra and Anoop Singh Karayat -- in the case and release them on bailThe tampering was detected for the first time on July 20 2002 and when it was unearthed a departmental enquiry was initiated against Sharma and he was suspendedLater an enquiry was conducted and he was terminated from services on June 25 2004The magisterial court had also imposed a fine of Rs 225 crore each on the Ansals apart from imposing a seven-year term in the caseThe case was lodged on the direction of the Delhi High Court while hearing a petition by AVUT chairperson Neelam Krishnamoorthy PTI ADS RKS RKS

New Delhi [India], December 15 (ANI): Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the police on Ansal brothers' plea challenging a trial court order which dismissed their petition seeking suspension of sentence in tampering with evidence in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case during the pendency of their appeal.

New Delhi [India], November 3 (ANI): The Patiala House Court's Sessions Judge on Friday dismissed the petition of Businessmen Ansal Brothers and three other persons sought suspension of sentence in tampering with evidence in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case during the pendency of their appeal.

New Delhi Nov 27 PTI A Delhi court on Saturday reserved for December 3 its order on whether to suspend the seven-year jail terms awarded to real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal for tampering with evidence in the 1997 case of Uphaar cinema fire which had claimed 59 livesAdditional Sessions Judge Anil Antil reserved the order on appeals filed by the Ansals against their conviction and jail terms by a magisterial courtBesides challenging their conviction and punishment the Ansals had urged the sessions court to suspend their jail terms till the appeal is decidedThe court heard the arguments of the accused as well as the victim and police and reserved the orderSenior advocate Vikas Pahwa appearing for the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy AVUT had opposed the appeals and told the court that the offence of tampering with evidence is extremely serious in nature as it affects the entire criminal justice systemThe Delhi Police had also opposed the appeals filed by the Ansals and told the court that suspending the jail terms of the convicts would trigger the mental trauma and agony of the victimsThe police had told the court that the punishment provided a solace to the victims of the tragedy and reinforced their faith in the justice delivery system that too after 24 yearsIf the jail terms awarded to the convicts are suspended within a month of incrimination it will further erode the faith of the countrys common citizens in the criminal justice system Additional Public Prosecutor A T Ansari had told the courtThe case is related to tampering with evidence in the main fire tragedy case in which the Ansals were convicted and sentenced to a two-year jail term by the Supreme CourtThe apex court had however released the Ansals taking into account the prison time they had done on the condition that they pay a fine of Rs 30 crore each to be used for building a trauma centre in the national capitalThe magisterial court had also sentenced former court staff Dinesh Chand Sharma and two others -- P P Batra and Anoop Singh -- to seven years in jail and slapped a fine of Rs 3 lakh each on the themIt had imposed a fine of Rs 225 crore each on the AnsalsThe tampering was detected for the first time on July 20 2002 and a departmental enquiry was initiated against Sharma who was suspended subsequentlyLater he was terminated from services on June 25 2004The prosecution said after the termination of his services the Ansal brothers helped Sharma get employment on a monthly salary of Rs 15000When the case was registered the documents of the company where Sharma was employed were further tampered with by its chairperson Anoop SinghAccording to the chargesheet the documents alleged to have been tampered with included a police memorandum giving details of recoveries immediately after the incident Delhi Fire Services records pertaining to the repair of a transformer installed inside the Uphaar cinema hall minutes of the managing directors meetings and four chequesOf the six sets of documents a cheque for Rs 50 lakh issued by Sushil Ansal to himself and minutes of the MDs meetings proved beyond doubt that the two brothers were handling the day-to-day affairs of the theatre at the relevant time the chargesheet had saidThe fire had broken out at the Uphaar cinema hall during the screening of Hindi film Border on June 13 1997 claiming 59 livesThe case was lodged on the direction of the Delhi High Court which was hearing a petition filed by AVUT chairperson Neelam Krishnamoorthy PTI UK RC

New Delhi Nov 20 PTI A Delhi court on Saturday granted two-day interim bail to a man awarded a seven-year jail term for tampering with evidence in the 1997 case of Uphaar cinema fire which had claimed 59 lives noting there was no elderly male member in the family to make arrangements for his nieces engagement ceremonyAdditional Sessions Judge Anil Antil granted relief to Dinesh Chand Sharma a former court staff sent to jail along with real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal and others by a magisterial court earlier this monthThe relief was granted on Sharmas application that claimed that there was no elderly male member in the family to make arrangements for already scheduled ceremony and he be released for a limited period of seven days to attend the said ceremony of his nieceIt had claimed that the womans father passed away last month and her grandfather also expiredThe court had called for a status report along with verification report regarding the engagement ceremony as well as death verification report of the persons concerned from the investigating officer IOThe IO filed a report verifying the claims made by the accusedDuring the arguments the prosecution submitted that it had no objection if the permission was granted to attend the ceremony for a limited period of only a dayTherefore without adverting to the merits of the case on humanitarian grounds the sentence of conviction of convict Dinesh Chandra Sharma is suspended for two days ie November 21 and 22 and he is allowed to attend the engagement ceremony the court saidThe case is related to tampering with the evidence in the main fire tragedy case in which the Ansals were convicted and sentenced to two-year jail term by the Supreme CourtThe apex court however released them taking into account the prison time they had done on the condition that they pay Rs 30 crore fine each to be used for building a trauma centre in the national capitalA magisterial court on November 8 awarded seven year jail terms to Ansals and Sharma along with individuals P P Batra and Anoop Singh for tempering and other offencesChief Metropolitan Magistrate Pankaj Sharmaalso imposed a fine of Rs 225 crore on Ansals and Rs three lakh each on other threeAnsals and Sharma have challenged their conviction and jail term before the sessions court and have also urged the court to suspend their punishment while the pendency of the appealThe tampering was detected for the first time on July 20 2002 and when it was unearthed a departmental enquiry was initiated against Sharma and he was suspendedLater an enquiry was conducted and he was terminated from services on June 25 2004The prosecution said that after the termination the Ansal brothers helped Sharma get employment on a monthly salary of Rs 15000When the case was registered the documents of the company where Sharma was employed post suspension were further tampered with by its chairperson Anoop SinghAccording to the charge sheet the documents alleged to have been tampered with included a police memo giving details of recoveries immediately after the incident Delhi Fire Service records pertaining to repair of transformer installed inside Uphaar minutes of Managing Directors meetings and four chequesOut of the six sets of documents a cheque of Rs 50 lakh issued by Sushil Ansal to self and minutes of the MDs meetings proved beyond doubt that the two brothers were handling the day-to-day affairs of the theater at the relevant time the charge sheet had saidThe fire had broken out at the Uphaar cinema during the screening of the Hindi film Border on June 13 1997 claiming 59 lives The case was lodged on the direction of the Delhi High Court while hearing a petition by AVUT chairperson Neelam Krishnamoorthy PTI UK ZMN

New Delhi [India], November 20 (ANI): In an interim relief, a Delhi Court on Saturday granted two-days interim bail to one of the convicts in a case relating to the tampering with the crucial evidence in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy, to attend his niece engagement ceremony.

New Delhi [India], November 10 (ANI): Businessmen Gopal Ansal, Sushil Ansal, and one other moved the Sessions Court against Magistrate Court's recent order convicting and sentencing them to seven years jail for tampering with evidence in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case.

New Delhi [India], November 8 (ANI): Delhi's Patiala House Court on Monday sentenced convict businessmen Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal and others to seven years jail term in the case related to tampering with the crucial evidence in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case.