Uphaar Cinema Fire: Sushil Ansal moves Delhi HC seeking restrain on Netflix web series ‘Trial by Fire’ releasing on January 13

Ansal’s lawsuit claims that the official teaser of the web series, produced by y Endemol India Pvt Ltd, was released on January 4 and shows “direct references” to Ansal and his dramatised role in the June 1997 Uphaar Cinema Fire and its aftermath. It has been further stated that his portrayal in the trailer and teaser of the web series has caused and has the propensity to cause “immense and irreparable harm” to his reputation and his right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution as well as his privacy.

Ansal has claimed that he is now 83 and has been punished “both legally and socially” for his association with the Uphaar Tragedy. “The family of the Plaintiff have also suffered extensively on account of the incarceration of the Plaintiff. Further, the Plaintiff has struggled to achieve a semblance of normalcy in his life along with the lives of his family members in light of the mammoth effects of the Uphaar Tragedy, the conviction, and the social ramifications thereof,” the suit states.

The book was stated to have been released in 2016 when the review petitions in the main Uphaar case were still pending before the Supreme Court. As many as 59 people were killed in the fire.

“The Plaintiff had apologised before the Hon’ble Supreme Court to the families of the victims and had expressed deep remorse towards the unfortunate incident. While the Plaintiff is sympathetic towards the pain and grief caused to Defendant Nos 4 and 5 (Krishnamoorthys) along with several others who lost their loved ones, the Defendants ought not to make the Plaintiff perpetually liable to be rebuked by the public time and again, especially after having served the sentence and complying with the Orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court,” the plea states.

The lawsuit states that when he found out that the web series is based on the book authored by the Krishnamoorthys, he bought a copy of the same and was shocked to find that the book entails “a one-sided narration of the unfortunate incident” and that its tone is “highly emotional” and has instances of exaggerated, prejudicial and hyperbolic statements made against Ansal.

A magisterial court in 2021 had convicted the Ansal brothers and other accused under Sections 201 (tampering of evidence), 120B (criminal conspiracy), and 409 (criminal breach of trust by public servant) of the Indian Penal Code and awarded seven-year jail terms to the Ansals, besides imposing a fine of Rs 2.25 crore on each. The Sessions Court on July 19, 2022 upheld the conviction order of the Ansals and two others. The court however reduced the duration to the period they had already been jailed since November 8, 2021.