New Delhi, Mar 4 (PTI) A Delhi court Friday closed a case related to outraging the modesty of Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) chairperson Neelam Krishnamoorthy in 2007, after she accepted the apologies tendered by the two accused.
Both the accused persons — Praveen Shankar Sharma and Deepak Kathpalia — and the complainant, Krishnamoorthy, told the court that they have compromised after their “unconditional apologies” were accepted by her.
Sharma and Kathpalia were accused of passing lewd remarks against her and clicking her photographs when she had gone to attend the proceedings in the main fire tragedy case.
Pursuant to the compromise entered between both the parties and taking the statement of the complainant, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pankaj Sharma on Friday compounded the offence against the accused.
Both the parties shall abide by the undertaking given in the court not to use the compromise in any legal proceedings or before any authority, said the application submitted before the judge.
In their application tendering apologies, both the accused said, “We regret the alleged incident that happened on May 10, 2007 in Patiala House Courts premises, New Delhi, where the trial of main Uphaar case was being conducted.” “We offer our unconditional apology for the incident. We regret the inconvenience and trauma of any kind caused to you (Krishnamnoorthy) by our such actions which were not intentional at all,” they said.
If convicted, the accused could get an imprisonment of maximum one year.
Krishnamoorthy, who lost two minor children in the Uphaar cinema fire tragedy and has been fighting a legal battle for justice on behalf of the victims’ families for the last 20 years, had claimed in her complaint that she and her when they were emerging out of the court room.
Krishnamoorthy had gone to the court for attending the trial proceedings in the 1997 Uphaar fire tragedy case. The accused had passed lewd remarks against her and clicked her photographs, she said.
Real estate barons Sushil and Gopal Ansal were convicted and sentenced to 2-year jail term by the Supreme Court in the main fire tragedy case.
The apex court, however, released them taking into account the prison time they had done on the condition that they pay Rs 30 crore fine each, to be used for building a trauma centre in the national capital.
The fire had broken out at the Uphaar cinema during the screening of the Hindi film ‘Border’ on June 13, 1997, claiming 59 lives. PTI UK SA
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.