New Delhi, Sept 23 (UNI) The Supreme Court today directed an inspection of trauma centres said to have been constructed using the Rs 60 crore penalty imposed on the Ansal brothers in the 1997 Uphaar Cinema fire tragedy.
A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant, Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh was hearing an application filed by the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT), represented by senior advocate Jayant Mehta, seeking implementation of the court’s 2015 directions while letting off the Ansals with a reduced sentence.
Mehta argued that despite receiving the benefit of leniency, the convicts had failed to fulfil their obligations. He pointed out that the Delhi Vidyut Board was directed to allot five acres of land for the trauma centre, but no land has been provided to date.
“Sixty crore has gone into a black hole. The trauma centre was in memory of victims, but no obligation has been fulfilled. No committee has even been formed to supervise the process,” he submitted.
The bench asked Additional Solicitor General Archana Pathak Dave whether the penalty amount had been deposited and utilised.
She confirmed that Rs 60 crore had been received from the Ansals and invested in three hospital projects across Delhi, including Indira Gandhi Hospital in Dwarka, where a trauma centre is operational. However, she admitted the amount was “very little” for such projects.
Justice Kant observed that Rs 60 crore was “peanuts” in comparison to the government’s expenditure on trauma centres, noting that hundreds of crores had been spent to establish such facilities.
“Do you think Dwarka hospital has been constructed in the air? Do you know how much land has been utilised to build it? Do you think five acres is available for Rs 60 crore in Delhi?” he asked.
The bench proposed that trauma centres be visited to verify their functioning and facilities. It directed AVUT to depute someone to inspect whether emergency staff are available round-the-clock, whether basic crisis-response facilities exist, whether transport facilities are functional, and how many emergency cases the centres can handle at once.
Justice Kant clarified that the bench was not reviewing the 2015 judgment but ensuring that trauma care facilities promised then were indeed provided.
“We can then do something for further enhancement,” he remarked, while cautioning against converting the matter into adversarial litigation.
The court adjourned the case after asking for inspection reports.
The Uphaar Cinema tragedy on June 13, 1997, claimed 59 lives and left over 100 injured during the screening of the film ‘Border’.
Investigations revealed gross negligence on the part of cinema owners Sushil and Gopal Ansal, as escape routes were blocked and illegally fixed chairs caused a deadly stampede and asphyxiation.
The Ansals were sentenced to two years’ rigorous imprisonment in 2007, which the Delhi High Court later reduced to one year. In 2015, the Supreme Court spared them further jail time, instead imposing a penalty of Rs 30 crore each, to be used for establishing a trauma facility in Dwarka.
