Real estate baron Gopal Ansal today failed in his last-ditch attempt to avoid serving the remaining period of one-year jail in the Uphaar fire tragedy case as the Supreme Court rejected his appeal.
The apex court dismissed his petition for parity with his elder brother Sushil Ansal, who was awarded jail term already undergone by him considering his “age-related complications”, and directed him to surrender on March 20 to serve the prison term.
During the hearing, Gopal Ansal’s counsel Ram Jethmalani claimed that Gopal’s health has deteriorated and he was “almost a dead person”. He also said that Gopal is “practically living on charity”.
67-year-old Gopal Ansal was in jail earlier for around four-and-a-half months in connection with the case relating to the June 13, 1997 fire tragedy in which 59 persons had died in Uphaar cinema during the screening of Hindi movie ‘Border’.
Over 100 people were injured in the subsequent stampede.
“The appeal filed by Gopal Ansal is dismissed,” a three- judge bench headed by Justice Ranjan Gogoi said after Jethmalani argued that his plea should be considered on “humanitarian grounds”.
After the bench passed the order, Jethmalani said that the four weeks time given on February 9 to Gopal Ansal to surrender was expiring today and the apex court should grant some more time to him.
“Please give him some more time to surrender,” he told the bench, also comprising Justices Kurian Joseph and Adarsh Kumar Goel, during the nearly 20-minute proceedings.
“Gopal Ansal will surrender to serve the rest of the sentence imposed on him on March 20,” the bench said.
During the hearing, Jethmalani claimed that Gopal’s health has deteriorated after the judgement was passed by the trial court in the case and he is suffering from “cerebral problem” which “causes loss of brain and memory”.
“As compared to my brother Sushil, I (Gopal) have suffered much more. I am also an old man and I have to look after my wife,” Jethmalani said, adding, “Kindly give me hearing on humanitarian grounds. I am almost a dead person now”.
Uphaar cinema has been closed after the incident and Gopal is “practically living on charity”, he said.
( Source – PTI )
