Won't leave India before Uphaar hearing, Ansal brothers assure SC

Business barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal on Monday assured the Supreme Court that they won't leave the country until the petitions filed by the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) would be heard.

Earlier, the AVUT had approached the apex court seeking to restrain the two Ansal brothers from travelling abroad during the pendency of their present petition.

The lawyer for Ansal brothers earlier gave a verbal undertaking that they won't leave the country till the apex court decides the Uphaar Association's petition in the matter.

The apex court today decided to hear the victim's application on Tuesday for imposing condition on the Ansal brothers.

Earlier, the apex court assured the victims' association of 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy that it would soon set up a bench to hear the pleas seeking review of its 2015 verdict, under which real estate barons were required to serve two years jail term if they failed to pay Rs. 30 crore each as fine in the matter.

In 2015, an apex court bench headed by Justice A. R. Dave decided to hear in an open court the petitions filed by the CBI and AVUT seeking review of the 2015 verdict. Following the judgment, the Ansals had deposited the amount.

As many as 59 people were killed at Uphaar Cinema due to asphyxiation and stampede after a fire broke out when an overheated generator exploded in the building's basement during the screening of blockbuster 'Border' on June 13, 1997.