New Delhi:
Uphaar cinema owners Sushil and Gopal Ansals were on Thursday issued a notice by the Delhi High Court, which admitted a petition by victims' families seeking enhancement of their punishment in the 1993 fire tragedy.
The notice comes within a week of the court granting them bail and ordering suspension of their two-year jail term.
Apart from the Ansal brothers, the court also issued notices to three other convicts and the CBI.
Admitting the petition of victims' families, seeking enhancement of the five convicts' jail term, Justice HR Malhotra said ",Show cause notice be issued for January 21 against all the six respondents,", Justice H R Malhotra said.
Besides, Ansal brothers other convicts who have been directed to respond include MCD officials, SS Sharma and ND Tiwari, and Delhi Fire Service employee, HS Panwar, who were also sentenced to two years' jail term by the trial court.
Arguing for the AVUT, senior advocate KTS Tulsi said the trial court had erred in convicting the cinema owners and three others under milder penal provisions dealing with criminal negligence.
He said there was enough evidence to sentence them under harsher provisions under section 304 part II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the IPC, which attracts a maximum punishment of 10 years' jail.
",I can satisfy this court that the trial court, even after concluding that convicts had prior knowledge of implications of their negligent acts, did not sentence them under harsher penal provisions,", Tulsi said.
Additional solicitor general PP Malhotra said the victims' appeal be heard on a priority and be listed before the convicts' appeal, which was allowed by the court.
The matter, which was yesterday listed before Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, was on Thursday referred to this court by Chief Justice MK Sharma.