New Delhi:
The Supreme Court on Wednesday cancelled the bail of Gopal and Sushil Ansal, the construction magnates, saying their role in destroying court records in the Uphaar cinema fire was an enormous offence.
And now, Ansal brothers have no options but to surrender on Thursday if they have to meet their Supreme Court deadline.
The Ansals were sentenced to two years in jail but then given bail by the High Court. Now lawyers say that if they are convicted on the charge of destroying evidence, they face up to seven years in jail.
",Tampering with court records is a serious offence, worse than murder and dacoity. The High court should not have granted bail,", said the Supreme Court.
The words have given new courage to people like Neelam Krishnamurthy, who lost both her children in the Uphaar tragedy. Neelam and the families of other victims say it's a travesty of justice that the Ansals are currently free.
",After the November order, though found guilty, they were not punished. But today, they are being punished and our faith in the judiciary has been vindicated,", said Neelam, who is the founder of Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy.
The Ansals were convicted in 2007 by a Delhi court of criminal negligence. In 1997, they owned South Delhi's Uphaar cinema where 59 people choked to death when a short circuit set the theatre on fire. The people in the balcony stood no chance. Exit routes had been blocked to squeeze in a few extra seats. The Ansals were sentenced to two years in prison and granted bail.
It was immediately challenged by the families of victims, who said the sentence was a joke.
The evidence that the Ansals are accused of destroying documents that prove they were involved in the day-to-day running of the theatre was a concerted attempt to distance themselves from the tragedy. The documents were filed in court but went missing almost five years ago.
Once the Ansals go to jail, the Uphaar case will go back to being heard in the High Court where the builders have challenged the guilty verdict against them and where the families of those who died in the fire have appealed for a stronger sentence against one of Delhi's largest and most powerful business families.