NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Wednesday raised questions regarding the last-minute request from real estate mogul Gopal Ansal, who had been convicted in a case related to evidence tampering during the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire trial.
He sought permission to travel abroad, but the court insisted on allowing the state an opportunity to respond before making a decision.
Gopal Ansal informed the court that he needed to travel to Bangkok from September 28 to October 3 for a business meeting.
Justice Jyoti Singh expressed her concern, stating, “Why have you come at the last moment? You haven’t given the state or the court any time to respond. You’ll have to postpone your trip. I can’t make a decision without allowing them time to respond.”
Gopal Ansal’s legal representative explained that his passport had been renewed on September 23, which caused a delay in approaching the court for permission. He argued that his plea would become invalid if he couldn’t travel on Thursday.
The state’s counsel contended that Gopal Ansal’s earlier application for passport renewal was accepted based on an undertaking from his lawyer that he would seek permission before traveling abroad. They argued that he had deliberately waited until the last minute to prevent the state from responding or verifying his claims about the foreign trip.
After some deliberation, Gopal Ansal’s lawyer consulted with his client and agreed to postpone the foreign visit by a few days, promising to submit an updated travel schedule.
The high court subsequently issued a notice to the state and requested a status report on the application, scheduling further hearings for October 12.
Gopal Ansal, 75 years old, had previously applied for passport renewal, citing the need for overseas business meetings.
This application was filed as part of an ongoing petition by Gopal Ansal, in which he seeks to have his conviction and sentence for evidence tampering set aside.
He had already completed his jail term in connection with the 1997 fire incident that occurred on June 13, 1997.
Additionally, Sushil Ansal (84 years old), their former employee P. P. Batra, and former court staff Dinesh Chandra Sharma have approached the high court seeking to have their convictions and sentences set aside.
The Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) had previously filed a petition in the high court requesting an increase in the punishment imposed on the convicts in the evidence tampering case.
On November 8, 2021, a magisterial court had sentenced the two brothers to seven years in prison, and they had been in custody since then.
On July 19, 2022, the sessions court modified the magisterial court’s sentence, ordering the release of Sushil and Gopal Ansal, as well as Sharma and Batra, considering the jail time they had already served since November 8, 2021.
The court imposed fines of Rs 3 crore each on Sushil and Gopal Ansal, Rs 30,000 on Batra, and Rs 60,000 on Sharma.
While upholding the Ansal brothers’ convictions, the trial court had acquitted co-accused Anup Singh in the case.
This case relates to tampering with evidence in the main Uphaar cinema fire tragedy case, in which the Ansals were initially convicted and sentenced to a two-year jail term by the Supreme Court.
However, the Supreme Court had released them, taking into account their time served in prison, on the condition that they pay a Rs 30 crore fine each to build a trauma center in the national capital.
The fire had erupted at the Uphaar cinema during a screening of the Hindi film ‘Border’ on June 13, 1997, resulting in the loss of 59 lives.
(With inputs from PTI)
He sought permission to travel abroad, but the court insisted on allowing the state an opportunity to respond before making a decision.
Gopal Ansal informed the court that he needed to travel to Bangkok from September 28 to October 3 for a business meeting.
Justice Jyoti Singh expressed her concern, stating, “Why have you come at the last moment? You haven’t given the state or the court any time to respond. You’ll have to postpone your trip. I can’t make a decision without allowing them time to respond.”
Gopal Ansal’s legal representative explained that his passport had been renewed on September 23, which caused a delay in approaching the court for permission. He argued that his plea would become invalid if he couldn’t travel on Thursday.
The state’s counsel contended that Gopal Ansal’s earlier application for passport renewal was accepted based on an undertaking from his lawyer that he would seek permission before traveling abroad. They argued that he had deliberately waited until the last minute to prevent the state from responding or verifying his claims about the foreign trip.
After some deliberation, Gopal Ansal’s lawyer consulted with his client and agreed to postpone the foreign visit by a few days, promising to submit an updated travel schedule.
The high court subsequently issued a notice to the state and requested a status report on the application, scheduling further hearings for October 12.
Gopal Ansal, 75 years old, had previously applied for passport renewal, citing the need for overseas business meetings.
This application was filed as part of an ongoing petition by Gopal Ansal, in which he seeks to have his conviction and sentence for evidence tampering set aside.
He had already completed his jail term in connection with the 1997 fire incident that occurred on June 13, 1997.
Additionally, Sushil Ansal (84 years old), their former employee P. P. Batra, and former court staff Dinesh Chandra Sharma have approached the high court seeking to have their convictions and sentences set aside.
The Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) had previously filed a petition in the high court requesting an increase in the punishment imposed on the convicts in the evidence tampering case.
On November 8, 2021, a magisterial court had sentenced the two brothers to seven years in prison, and they had been in custody since then.
On July 19, 2022, the sessions court modified the magisterial court’s sentence, ordering the release of Sushil and Gopal Ansal, as well as Sharma and Batra, considering the jail time they had already served since November 8, 2021.
The court imposed fines of Rs 3 crore each on Sushil and Gopal Ansal, Rs 30,000 on Batra, and Rs 60,000 on Sharma.
While upholding the Ansal brothers’ convictions, the trial court had acquitted co-accused Anup Singh in the case.
This case relates to tampering with evidence in the main Uphaar cinema fire tragedy case, in which the Ansals were initially convicted and sentenced to a two-year jail term by the Supreme Court.
However, the Supreme Court had released them, taking into account their time served in prison, on the condition that they pay a Rs 30 crore fine each to build a trauma center in the national capital.
The fire had erupted at the Uphaar cinema during a screening of the Hindi film ‘Border’ on June 13, 1997, resulting in the loss of 59 lives.
(With inputs from PTI)
