New Delhi: Delhi High Court Monday directed real estate developers Sushil and Gopal Ansal, along with the other convicts, to file written submissions within a week in their appeals against conviction for tampering with evidence in the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire case.Justice Purushaindra K Kaurav listed the matter for further hearing on Oct 15 and made it clear that no adjournment would be granted. The court directed all parties to place their written submissions on record and begin arguments on the next date of hearing.Ansal brothers have challenged their conviction and sentence, while Delhi Police and Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) have sought enhancement of the punishment.The prosecution argued that the sessions court upheld the trial court’s conviction but reduced the sentence on “perverse reasoning”. AVUT contended that the offence was grave, as it undermined the integrity of the criminal justice system by involving evidence tampering in a major criminal case.The matter relates to alleged tampering with evidence in the main Uphaar fire case, in which Ansal brothers were convicted and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment by Supreme Court.A magistrate’s court had on Nov 8, 2021, sentenced the Ansals to seven years’ imprisonment after holding them guilty of evidence tampering.However, on July 19, 2022, a sessions court modified the order and released Ansal brothers and others for the period already undergone in custody since Nov 2021.
