A Delhi court formally charged Uphaar fire tragedy convict Sushil Ansal in a separate case over alleged concealment of criminal cases and furnishing false information to secure renewal of his passport. December charges were ordered under IPC, Passports Act.
NEW DELHI: A Delhi court formally charged Sushil Ansal, a convict in the Uphaar fire tragedy, in a separate case involving allegations of concealing criminal cases and providing false information in order to renew his passport.
In December of last year, the court had directed that charges be framed against Ansal under IPC sections 420, 177, and 181, as well as Section 12 of the Passports Act.
Ansal was investigated by the Delhi Police’s crime branch in 2019 for allegedly supplying false information, specifically failing to disclose his conviction related to the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire.
Sushil and his brother Gopal Ansal were found guilty by the Supreme Court of “causing death due to negligence” linked to the fire at the cinema during a screening of the Hindi film Border on June 13, 1997, which resulted in the loss of 59 lives.
On Saturday, Chief Judicial Magistrate Mridul Gupta formally framed the charges against Sushil Ansal, who pleaded not guilty and requested a trial. He participated in the proceedings via video conference, as the court approved his application for exemption from personal appearance.
In response to the order, Neelam Krishnamoorthy, chairperson of the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy, stated that this development is “not an isolated incident” and highlighted that it marks the third criminal case against Ansal, who has been “evading accountability.”
“Each time, he is let off or granted concessions on the basis of ‘old age.’ But the reality is he was already 64 when he tampered with judicial records and 74 when he renewed his passport by providing false information without court permission.
Krishnamoorthy emphasized,
“How long can one individual continue to commit offenses and still evade meaningful accountability? The justice system must send a clear message: repeated wrongdoing cannot become a lifelong escape act,”
Ansal has already been convicted in the Uphaar fire tragedy case, where 59 innocent lives were lost, and he has also been found guilty in an evidence-tampering case, “an act that was nothing short of an insult to the courts and the justice system,” she added.
In addition to their one-year prison sentence, the two brothers were fined Rs 60 crore by the Supreme Court, which is to be used for constructing a trauma center in the national capital.
The court scheduled the prosecution to present its evidence on April 25.
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