In Brief
The Supreme Court dismissed review petitions challenging sentence orders in the Uphaar Cinema fire tragedy case (1997), which killed 59 persons. The Court upheld the reduction of imprisonment sentence to the period already undergone by the accused (Sushil Ansal, age 77, and Gopal Ansal) in lieu of a substantial fine of Rs. 30 crores each to be used for trauma centres serving public interest. The Court held that sentencing orders must be read as a whole; the wide discretion under Section 304-A IPC permits imposition of both imprisonment and fine, and advanced age and remitted period were material mitigating factors. No patent error warranted review.
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