New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation has moved the Supreme Court seeking review of the court's verdict of August 20 in the case pertaining to the Uphaar cinema fire that had claimed 60 victims 18 years ago.
The top court held brothers Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal - owners of the South Delhi cinema complex - guilty of criminal negligence and fined them Rs 30 crore each but ruled that the two need not serve any more time in jail.
The CBI has said that the court did not give it time to put its views forth resulting in "miscarriage of justice." It has petitioned the court to reconsider its view.
On June 13 1997, a major fire had broken out in the packed cinema hall, Uphaar Grand, in Delhi's Green Park area that left over 60 people dead. Investigations into the fire revealed that most deaths happened due to asphyxia caused by smoke. The exit routes had been blocked with chairs to seat more viewers than the rules permitted. Investigators found that several safety rules had been broken in the recently renovated complex.
In 2007, the trial court had sentenced the Ansal brothers to two years in jail but next year the Delhi High Court reduced the sentence by half. Review petitions are usually decided in chambers of judges and not in open Court.