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The Delhi High Court today rejected petitions moved by businessmen Sushil and Gopal Ansal in the Uphaar evidence tampering case against 7 years imprisonment and fine of Rs. 2.25 crore each awarded by a lower court in Delhi.

The bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad was hearing the matter.

Previously, the Court had said, "We will try to pronounce the judgment on the petition before the date of hearing in the trial court. If, in any case, it is not pronounced by then, I will direct the trial court to continue the hearing on appeals."

Sr. Adv. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, counsel for the Ansals had argued that no judicial system considered the primary conviction as final and urged that there is a need to adopt a larger view and not a tactical one, adding "it was alleged that I delayed the trial which is not true. We had challenged the summoning order on charge, even during that period, trial was not stayed."

On the question  of evidence tampering he had submitted, "There is no direct evidence of tampering. The only ground was that I would be the beneficiary of delay."

He had argued that the whole case was based on the point of benefit from conspiracy, however, there cannot be an open-ended, continuing conspiracy.

Questioning the admissibility of the documentary evidence, he argued that with 95 per cent of documents being those whose author was not examined, admissibility of the document was under doubt.

Sr. Adv. Arvind Nigam, counsel on behalf of Sushil Ansal, had submitted that he was the licensee of the Uphar cinema hall, and had "gained nothing out of this alleged tampering."

"If all the documents were intact and exhibited before the Court, then what led to this delay is questionable," he added.

Meanwhile, Sr. Adv. N. Hariharan had submitted on behalf of Gopal Ansal that, "Motive alone was not sufficient to prove conspiracy," as "there should be a reason to believe that two or more persons conspired to commit an offence."

He also submitted that Gopal Ansal was not attributed any role for conspiracy, and yetwas convicted of conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and destruction of evidence.

Adv. Pramod Kumar Dubey, for the petitioner, also pressed that the prosecuting agency had taken adjournment 226 times - "it was the prosecution, not the accused who took these adjournments, whereas Sushil Ansal had taken "only 12 adjournments."

Businessmen Gopal Ansal, Sushil Ansal and one other moved the Delhi High Court against the order of Sessions Court. The Sessions court had not suspended their sentence.

Earlier they moved Sessions Court against Magistrate Court's order convicting and sentencing them to seven years jail for tampering with evidence in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) Court on November 8 sentenced them for 7 years imprisonment and imposed Rs 2.25-crore fine each on Sushil and Gopal Ansal for tampering with evidence.

Additional Session Judge (ASJ) Anil Antil dismissed their application for suspension of sentence, following which Gopal Ansal, Sushil Ansal and PP Batra appealed against the conviction.

The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court while passing the order also said, "After thinking over nights and nights, I have come to the conclusion that they deserve punishment."

In the matter, the Court had earlier convicted businessmen Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal and two employees among others in the case related to tampering with crucial evidence in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case. The Court convicted all the accused under sections 409, 201, 120B of IPC.

In 1997, at least 59 people died of asphyxiation and over 100 others were injured in a stampede after a fire broke out in Uphaar cinema hall on June 13, 1997, during the screening of JP Dutta's film 'Border'. 

Cause Title: Gopal Ansal vs State of NCT of Delhi & Gopal Ansal vs State of NCT of Delhi