Uphaar tragedy: Rs 60 crore paid by Ansal brothers for trauma centre utilised at 3 hospitals, says Delhi govt

The Delhi government has informed the Supreme Court that the Rs 60 crore paid by the Ansal brothers for constructing a trauma centre in memory of the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy victims has been utilised at three government hospitals.

According to an affidavit filed in the apex court, the three hospitals are Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Mangolpuri, Satyawadi Raja Harish Chander Hospital, Narela, and Siraspur Hospital.

These hospitals were selected for the establishment of trauma centres based on urgent public need in the high-density and underserved regions of Delhi, it said.

"It is further submitted that while the original direction of this court referred to the construction of a trauma centre at a suitable location in Dwarka, at the time there existed no GNCTD hospital in Dwarka where such a trauma centre could be established.

"However, the Indira Gandhi Hospital, located in Sector 9, Dwarka, has since been constructed and became functional on May 10, 2021.

"The hospital has a total bed capacity of 1,241, including 330 ICU beds, and is fully operational, benefitting the residents of Dwarka and surrounding areas," the affidavit said.

The Delhi government submitted that it has gone beyond the original directions by establishing trauma centres at three different locations to maximise public benefit.

AVUT office-bearer Neelam Krishnamoothy, who lost her two children in the 1997 tragedy in which 59 people were killed, had earlier said, "It is outrageous to hear the Delhi government claim in the Supreme Court that the Rs 60 crore has already been utilised despite the court's categorical direction that these funds were to be used solely for building a trauma centre in memory of the Uphaar victims at a suitable site in Dwarka."

On May 7, the top court issued a notice to the Delhi government, seeking its response on an application filed by the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT).

AVUT's plea said, "While about 10 years have elapsed since the stipulated fine amount was deposited (by the Ansal brothers) with the office of the chief secretary, government of NCT of Delhi, on November 9, 2015, the trauma centre envisaged in this court's directions remain a nonstarter, with no discernable steps having been taken towards its construction."

On September 22, 2015, the top court directed that the trauma centre was required to be completed within two years in memory of the fire victims in the Dwarka area.

The AVUT alleged the Delhi government flouted the apex court's order.

The apex court in September 2015 held the Ansal brothers, Gopal and Sushil Ansal, guilty of causing death due to negligence for the fire incident of June 13, 1997, at the Uphar cinema hall.

Apart from the one-year sentence the two brothers had to undergo, the top court also fined them Rs 60 crore.

AVUT's application was filed in its pending appeal challenging a Delhi High Court order of December 2008 reducing the two-year sentence awarded to Ansals by the trial court to one year.

The duo was convicted under Sections 304A (causing death due to negligence), 337 (endangering life), and 338 (causing grievous hurt), among other provisions, of the IPC.

Initially, the top court's two-judge bench, which heard the appeal, delivered a split verdict on March 5, 2014.

The matter was then heard by a three-judge bench, which reduced the Rs 100 crore fine to Rs 60 crore, to be shared equally by the two brothers.

AVUT subsequently filed a review petition, which the top court dismissed in February 2017.

The top court, however, reiterated that the Rs 60 crore amount was to be paid to the chief secretary of the Delhi government, to be utilised for the construction of a trauma centre dedicated in the memory of the victims.