The Supreme Court has accepted the review petition of its controversial Uphaar fire tragedy sentencing verdict, which had seen the two accused escape without any additional jail time.

While the delayed jail sentence for only one of the brothers may not be enough for those who lost loved ones in the 1997 cinema fire due to the brothers’ negligence, it is unusual for the Supreme Court to accept a review of its own judgment.

A curative petition in turn by a victim’s association is possible, reported The Hindu:

Uphaar fire case: Gopal Ansal to go back to jail for a year

By Krishnadas Rajagopal

The Supreme Court, in a majority judgment of 2:1, on Thursday decided to send real estate baron Gopal Ansal back to jail for a year for negligence that led to the death of 59 people in the 1997 Uphaar Cinema fire case. It, however, spared his elder brother Sushil from serving time behind bars due to his advanced age.

A Bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi, Kurian Joseph and AK Goel passed the order on separate review petitions filed by the CBI and the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy against a 2015 judgment of the Supreme Court, which allowed the Ansals to walk free after directing them to pay a total compensation of Rs. 60 crore. The then Bench led by Justice Anil Dave found that there was nothing “frutiful” in sending the duo to jail.

The majority decision was passed by Justices Gogoi and Kurian. Justice Goel dissented in favour of the 2015 judgment. Both Justices Kurian and Goel were part of the earlier Bench led by Justice Dave, who has retired.

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