Uphaar tragedy: Ansal brothers get 7 years jail in evidence tampering case

A Delhi court on Monday sentenced Sushil and Gopal Ansal, the owners of Uphaar theatre, to 7 years imprisonment in the evidence tampering case.

It also imposed a fine of Rs 2.25 crore on both.

"After thinking over nights and nights, I have come to the conclusion that they deserve punishment," said Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM), Patiala House Court, Dr Pankaj Sharma, while pronouncing the judgment.

Earlier, the Ansals were convicted and sentenced to two years in jail by the Supreme Court. The apex court had in August 2015 allowed the duo to walk free and asked them to pay a fine of Rs 30 crore each.

In February 2017, the top court had, through a 2:1 majority judgement, given relief to 78-year-old Sushil Ansal, citing his "advanced age-related complications" by awarding him the jail term which he had already served. However, the court had asked his younger brother Gopal Ansal to serve the remaining one year jail term.

On June 13, 1997, halfway through the screening of Hindi film "Border", a fire broke out in the Uphaar cinema, located in Green Park in south Delhi, killing 59 people in one of the worst tragedies.