Uphaar tragedy: Apex court reduces compensation for victims

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The Supreme Court on Thursday reduced the amount of compensation for the 59 people who died while they were watching a movie at south Delhi's Uphaar cinema hall in 1997.

The apex court cut down compensation for those above 20 years from Rs.18 lakh to Rs.10 lakh while for those under 20 years, the amount has been reduced from Rs.15 lakh to Rs.7.5 lakh.

Cinema hall owners Ansals were asked to pay 85 percent of the compensation money to the families of the victims, while the Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) was asked to pay 15 percent of the amount.

Sanjeev Sen, counsel for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), said: "Now after this judgment, Ansals will pay 85 percent. DVB has already complied with the court order and paid 15 percent while court has set aside compensation to be paid by Delhi Police and MCD."

"Delhi Police has already paid certain amount as ex-gratia," he told reporters.

Neelam Krishnamurthy, who lost two children in the blaze and is convenor of the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT), described the order as "extremely disappointing".

She said Ansals were asked to pay punitive damages of Rs.2.5 crore. But the court reduced the amount to Rs.25 lakh.

The horrific blaze on June 13, 1997 during the screening of the Hindi film 'Border' claimed 59 lives and injured over 100 people in the subsequent stampede.

The fire was sparked by a blast in a transformer in an underground parking lot in the five-storey building which housed the cinema hall and several offices.