New Delhi:Uphaar cinema fire incident took place 20 years ago. Justice has belied those who lost their loved ones in the fire tragedy on 13 June 1997.On the deathly afternoon of June 13, 1997, a fire broke in south Delhi’s Uphaar Cinema hall.A spark in the transformer on the basement of the cinema hall caused a fire that charred cars in the parking lot. Soon, toxic smoke filled in the main auditorium that turned it into a gas chamberduring the screening of Bollywood film ‘Border’. In all 59 people were suffocated to death, out of which 23 were children. Over 100 were injured in the subsequent stampede.

The main reasons why the 59 people were killed was the sheer negligence of norms and the greed for extra money because the hall owners -- Ansals-- had put in 52 extra seats in the balcony and a box for their own family, thereby blocking the exits on the right side of the balcony which could have savedmany a lives.
Within a month of the tragedy, magisterial probe held the owners of Uphaar Cinema SushilAnsal, his brother GopalAnsal, the Delhi Vidyut Board and city fire service responsible for the incident.
The 16 accused were charged of causing death by negligence, endangering life and relevant provisions of the Cinematography Act, 1952 when the CBI filed the charge sheet in late 1997. After that the case dragged on in the sessions, High and Supreme Court for as long as 20 years.

In the events that followed, a trial court sentenced Uphaar owners – the Ansal brothers Sushil and Gopal -- to two-year rigorous imprisonment, in 2007. However, in 2008, the Delhi High Court reduced the sentence to one year.
The Supreme Court upheld their conviction in 2015. After a two-decade journey for justice, the Supreme Court on real estate baron GopalAnsal to one year in jail for the fire tragedy that killed 59 people in 1997. While Gopal is serving six months of his remaining term, his brother SushilAnsal, was spared from going through more jail term due to his ‘advanced age.’