7 months ago
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A Delhi tribunal has ordered framing of charges against the Uphaar occurrence calamity convict Sushil Ansal successful a abstracted lawsuit for allegedly concealing transgression cases and submitting mendacious declarations to renew a passport.
Ansal was booked by the Crime Branch of Delhi Police successful 2019, and helium was accused of furnishing mendacious information, arsenic helium failed to state his condemnation successful the 1997 Uphaar cinema occurrence tragedy.
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Chief Judicial Magistrate Shriya Agrawal of Patiala House Courts, successful a November 28 order, held that "prima facie, determination is capable material" to proceed against Ansal for offences nether Sections 420 (cheating), 177 (furnishing mendacious accusation to a nationalist servant), 181 (making mendacious connection connected oath) IPC and Section 12 (offenses related to passports) of the Passports Act, relisting the substance for ceremonial framing of charges connected January 13, 2026.
The tribunal said Ansal "has consciously concealed the details of transgression cases pending against him arsenic besides the bid of conviction" successful the sworn declaration submitted with his 2013 Tatkaal passport application. The concealment, the justice noted, was utilized "to induce nether misrepresentation, the Regional Passport Office into issuing the passport." The Court said the accused not lone withheld accusation connected convictions and pending FIRs but "consciously did not springiness due details of his erstwhile address, to evade detection of existent transgression history", adding that the alleged mendacious statements were made connected 2 abstracted occasions, some successful 2013 and successful 2018.
The tribunal further elaborated successful the bid dated November 28 and said, "It is simply a fixed that consequent acknowledgment of 'unintentional mistake' by the accused, cannot erode the erstwhile culpability, arsenic the accused had remained successful possession and utilized the invaluable papers passim based connected misleading declarations successful breach of the statutory requirements." Rejecting the defence assertion that prosecution was barred from filing a lawsuit successful the lack of a written complaint, the Court held the information stood satisfied due to the fact that the lawsuit was initiated pursuant to Delhi High Court directions.
Referring to a Supreme Court precedent, the bid said a High Court directive is "on a par with absorption of an administrative superior nationalist servant" for the purposes of cognisance.
The defence assertion of "double jeopardy" was besides rejected, arsenic the tribunal elaborated that the punishment imposed by the Passport Authority and the transgression proceeding successful tribunal are abstracted processes and truthful cannot beryllium considered punishment for the aforesaid offence. "The Passport Authority imposing penalty, cannot and would not substitute for ceremonial transgression proceedings nether the statute imposing transgression sanction, which tin lone beryllium considered successful judicial proceedings, but for which, a lawsuit of treble jeopardy would not arise." Lastly, the tribunal declined to proceed connected offences regarding sections 192 and 197 IPC.
Reacting to the order, Neelam Krishnamoorthy, chairperson of the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT), called the improvement "not an isolated incident" and said it marked Ansal's 3rd transgression case.
"Each time, helium is fto disconnected oregon fixed concessions connected the grounds of 'old age'. But the information is: helium was already 64 erstwhile helium tampered with judicial records and 74 erstwhile helium renewed his passport from the authorities by giving mendacious accusation and without seeking the support of the court. How agelong tin 1 idiosyncratic proceed to perpetrate offence aft offence and inactive evade meaningful accountability? The justness strategy indispensable nonstop a wide connection that repeated wrongdoing cannot go a lifelong flight act," said Mr. Krishnamoorthy.
He has already been held blameworthy successful the Uphaar occurrence calamity case, wherever 59 guiltless lives were mislaid and has besides been convicted successful the evidence-tampering case, an enactment that was thing abbreviated of an insult to the courts and the justness system, she said.
The Uphaar Cinema lawsuit pertains to the occurrence that had breached retired astatine the movie hallway during the screening of the Hindi movie 'Border' connected June 13, 1997, claiming 59 lives.
AVUT has antecedently been allowed to assistance the prosecution successful this lawsuit successful an bid dated August 4.
The tribunal had held that the association, astatine whose lawsuit the proceedings were initiated, was entitled to assistance the prosecution and nary prejudice would beryllium caused to the accused.
The Supreme Court successful September 2015 held the Ansal brothers, Gopal and Sushil Ansal, blameworthy of causing decease owed to negligence successful that case.
Apart from the 1 twelvemonth condemnation the 2 brothers had to undergo, the Supreme Court fined them with ₹60 crore, to beryllium utilized for gathering a trauma centre successful the nationalist capital.
