Uphaar tragedy: Court orders framing of charges against seven

According to the prosecution, those documents allegedly proved that the Ansals, contrary to their claims, were the owners of the theatre at the time of the incident.  The documents said to have been allegedly tampered with included a police memo giving details of recoveries made immediately after the incident, Delhi Fire Service records pertaining to repair of transformer installed inside Uphaar cinema hall, minutes of the managing director's meetings and four cheques, the charge sheet said.

Out of the six set of documents, a cheque of Rs 50 lakh, issued by Sushil Ansal to self, and minutes of MD's meetings, prove beyond doubt that the two brothers were handling the day-to-day affairs of the theatre, the police alleged.  

The Ansal brothers had earlier argued that they had already resigned from the board of directors of M/s Ansal Theatres and Clubotels Pvt Limited, which owned the cinema hall, before the fire tragedy.

Association of the Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) had earlier approached the Delhi High Court seeking speedy trial of the case, which was pending before the lower court since 2006, against Ansals and others.

At least 59 people died of asphyxia following the fire in the basement of Uphaar cinema hall on June 13, 1997.