Uphaar case: SC rejects Neelam Krishnamoorthy's plea

New Delhi, Nov 20: In a relief to real-estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea filed against the Delhi High Court order quashing criminal proceeding lodged for allegedly threatening Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) chairperson.

A bench comprising justices A R Dave and Adarsh Kumar Goyal upheld the Delhi High Court order, passed on July 14 this year, quashing the decision of the trial court to take cognizance of the offence against the Ansal brothers and two others.

"We don't find substance in the case," the bench said. Senior advocate K T S Tulsi, appearing for AVUT chairperson Neelam Krishnamoorthy, contended that the High Court was wrong in throwing out the case at threshold.

He said the High Court has ignored the entire evidence in the case. It has been alleged by Krishnamoorthy that she and her husband were harassed by Deepak Kathpalia and Praveen Sharma inside the Patiala House court premises on the evening of May 10, 2007, when they were emerging out of court room.

Krishnamoorthy had gone to the court for attending the trial proceedings in the Uphaar fire tragedy case. Kathpalia and Sharma were accused of passing lewd remarks against Krishnamoorthy and clicking her photographs.

On June 19, the trial court had taken cognisance of the offence against the four accused, including the Ansal brothers, under relevant penal provisions.

However, later the high court first stayed and then quashed the case.

Fifty-nine people, trapped in the balcony of the theatre in South Delhi, had died of asphyxia following the fire and over 100 were injured in the subsequent stampede on June 13, 1997 during the screening of Bollywood film 'Border'.

PTI