The Delhi high court on Friday paved the way for the trial of theatre owners Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal for the alleged tampering of evidence in a case related to the 1997 fire tragedy at the Uphaar cinema hall. A trial court had ordered framing of charges against 7 accused, including Ansal brothers, in May 2014 on charges of abetment of offence, causing the disappearance of evidence, criminal breach of trust by a public servant and criminal conspiracy. Justice Siddharth Mridul of the high court held there was adequate material on record before the trial court that justifies framing of charges against Ansal brothers and others. “The material gave rise to a strong suspicion that accused committed the offence for which charges were rightly framed,” Mridul said. A court on January 31, 2003, ordered an inquiry after some documents related to the Uphaar case went missing from the court record room.

Source: Hindustan Times May 12, 2017 07:13 UTC