New Delhi, Nov 20: Uphaar theatre owners Sushil and Gopal Ansal were among 12 accused convicted by a court here today in the 1997 cinema hall fire tragedy case which claimed 59 lives.

The Ansals were held guilty under Section 304 A (causing death by rash and negligent act) and some other provisions of the IPC pertaining to endangering human lives by causing hurt.

The court also held the Ansal brothers guilty of violating the Cinematography Act.

Besides Ansals, Additional Sessions Judge Mamta Sehgal convicted two MCD officials Shyam Sunder Sharma and N D Tiwari and a Delhi Fire Service officer H S Panwar for causing death by negligent act under other similar provisions of the IPC.

Ansals and other accused, held guilty under Section 304 A of the IPC face a maximum imprisonment of two years along with a fine.

The court, however, found the charges against three managers, one gate-keeper of the theatre and three Delhi Vidyut Board officials graver than the other accused and held them guilty for the offence of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under Section 304 of the IPC.

Seven convicts may get a maximum sentence of life term under the provision.

The court would pronounce the quantum of punishment for all the 12 convicts tomorrow.

A total of 16 persons, including the theatre owners, were initially named as accused in the case, which had claimed 59 lives on June 13, 1997.

Four accused, however, died during the prolonged trial, which was expedited following the Delhi High Court direction to conclude the hearing by August 2007.

The verdict in the case was first reserved on August 21 by Additional Sessions Judge Mamta Sehgal.

The trial, in which the CBI examined 115 witnesses, including eight relatives of Ansals, who had turned hostile, also witnessed some controversy when a court staff was dismissed from service for tampering with the court documents allegedly at the instance of the main accused.

The relatives of the victims joined hands to form a body -- Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AUVT) -- to fight the legal battle which on many occasions went to the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court.

The pronouncement of the much-awaited verdict had earlier been deferred twice by the court which had said that the case file was voluminous and its careful scrutiny was a time-taking process.

The CBI, which was handed over the investigation from Delhi Police, had contended that the hall owners were directly and criminally negligent in the management of the theatre.

A fire had broken out in the theatre during screening of Hindi film "Border" from the DVB transformer installed at the ground floor leading to the death of 59 people due to asphyxia.

Ansals had claimed that they were not the owners of the theatre when the accident occurred and they were coerced by the DVB to allow the installation of the transformer in the cinema hall premises.

However, the CBI had contended that the owners were liable for the tragedy as the emergency safety measures were not in place.

The theatre had turned into a gas chamber as exit doors of the balcony were closed, leaving no scope for the people to escape, the agency had said.