Uphaar tragedy: Ansal brothers surrender in court

Two managers of the Uphaar theatre, Ajit Chowdhary and Nirmal Chopra, also surrendered before the court.

All the four were directed by the apex Court on Wednesday to surrender before the trial court by 4 pm on Thursday. An apex court bench comprising Justices B N Agrawal and G S Singhvi had ordered their arrest after cancelling their bail.

The apex Court while cancelling the bail of the convicts had taken a strong exception to the alleged tampering with the judicial records of the case by the accused persons.

The bail of the convicts were cancelled on a petition filed by Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy AVUT challenging the order of the Delhi High Court.

The trial court on November, 20, 2007 had convicted the Ansal brothers along with three others under Section 304-A IPC causing death due to rash and negligent act and had sentenced them to two years imprisonment.

Seven others including Ajit Chowdhary and Nirmal Chopra, managers of the theatre whose bail was also cancelled on Wednesday, were convicted under Section 304 IPC culpable homicide not amounting to murder and sentenced to seven years imprisonment.

Others convicted under section 304 IPC were 8211; Radha Krishan Sharma, Manmohan Unniyal cinema8217;s gatekeeper, Brij Mohan Satija, A K Gera and Bir Singh all DVB officials.

The other three convicts 8212; S S Sharma and N D Tiwari of Municipal Corporation of Delhi MCD and H S Panwar of Delhi Fire Service 8212; were also granted two years term as the offences were similar to that of the Ansal brothers.

Fiftynine cinegoers were killed in the blaze in the theatre on June 13, 1997 during the screening of Hindi blockbuster Border. The High Court had granted bail to the Ansal brothers and two other accused on January 4.

Uphaar case chronology

Following is the chronology of events in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case:-

June 13, 1997: 59 people die of asphyxia in Uphaar cinema hall fire which broke out during the screening of Hindi movie Border. Over 100 others injured in stampede.

July 22, 1997: Theatre owner Sushil Ansal and his son Pranav arrested in Mumbai by the crime branch of Delhi Police.

July 24, 1997: Probe transferred from police to CBI.

Nov 15, 1997: CBI files chargesheet against 16 accused including cinema owners Sushil and Gopal Ansal.

Feb 27, 2001: Court frames charges against accused under various sections including 304 culpable homicide, 304 A causing death by negligent act and 337 hurt of the IPC.

April 24, 2003: The Delhi High Court awards Rs 18 crore compensation, to be paid by cinema hall owners, to relatives of victims.

May 23, 2001: Recording of prosecution witnesses8217; testimony begins.

Sep 4, 2004: Court starts recording statements of accused.

Nov 5, 2005: Recording of testimonies of defence witnesses begins.

Aug 2, 2006: Court concludes recording of testimony of defence witnesses.

Feb 14,2007: Accused start advancing final arguments.

Aug 20, 2007: Senior advocate Harish Salve appears for CBI and advances final arguments.

Aug 21, 2007: Judgement reserved. Court fixes Sep 5 for pronouncement of verdict.

Nov 20, 2007: Court convicts all 12 accused including theatre owners Sushil and Gopal Ansal in the case.

Nov 23, 2007: Court awards two years jail term to Ansal brothers and grants them bail. Three others 8212; two MCD officials and Delhi Fire Service staff 8212; also get two years imprisonment. Other seven convicts sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment.

Dec 2007: Ansals challenge their conviction in the Delhi High Court and seek continuation of their bail.

Jan 4, 2008: High Court suspends their sentence by extending their bail till conclusion of the hearing on their appeals.

Sep 10, 2008: The Supreme Court sets aside the High Court order, asks Ansals and two others to surrender in Patiala House Courts.

Sep 11, 2008: Real estate barons surrender and sent to Tihar jail to undergo two years jail term for their complicity in the 1997 Uphaar inferno.