The Hindu : New Delhi News : Court refuses to hear plea against Ansals

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Friday, Jul 15, 2005

New Delhi

New Delhi

Court refuses to hear plea against Ansals

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court on Thursday refused to hear a contempt of court petition filed by the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) against two senior executives of Messrs Ansal Theatre & Clubotels Pvt. Limited for allegedly filing a false and incorrect affidavit about properties owned by the company.

Refusing to hear the petition, the Division Bench comprising Justice B.C. Patel and Justice S.K. Kaul directed the High Court Registry to send the matter to another Bench for hearing.

However, the Bench did not give any reason for not taking up the petition.

In May this year, Justice Manmohan Sarin had also refused to hear the petition without giving any reason.

The company, in a rejoinder to a counter filed by AVUT, had claimed that it did not have any other assets except the cinema building, one small flat, machinery installed in the cinema building and a few moveable assets, the contempt petition said.

The petitioner further said that the above-mentioned submission made by the company was "patently false and incorrect.'' The submission had been made deliberately and intentionally to mislead the court to persuade it to allow its prayer to hand over the hall to it so that it could sell it off and disburse the proceeds to the family members of the dead and the injured in the Uphaar fire tragedy on June 13, 1997.

The High Court, in April 2003, had pronounced a compensation package for the family members of the dead and the injured in the tragedy. Of the total compensation of about Rs. 18 crores fixed, the court had asked the Ansals to bear about 55 per cent.

Thereafter, the Ansals had moved the High Court seeking release of the hall to collect the required amount by selling it off.

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