A Delhi court sentenced two businessmen to seven years in prison on Monday after finding them guilty of stealing crucial evidence related to their trial over a deadly 1997 cinema hall fire.
Fifty-nine moviegoers were killed in the blaze at Delhi’s Uphaar cinema hall owned by businessmen brothers Sushil and Gopal Ansal.
Both were convicted and briefly jailed for manslaughter in 2007 for the blaze deaths, but the case got embroiled in controversy over inordinate judicial delays and legal meanderings.
The trial court last month found the brothers guilty of tampering with evidence and criminal conspiracy after investigations found that “critical documents” related to the cinema fire trial were either missing or destroyed from the Delhi High Court in 2003.
The victims' families had accused the brothers of bribing a court employee to steal or destroy the documentary evidence from the court premises to sabotage the trial into their role in the fire incident. A court agreed.
While sentencing the two property barons, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Pankaj Sharma said the brothers stole the documents to try to “secure their acquittal and put a stumbling block in the trial”.
The court said the act amounted to “defiling the justice administration system”.
The judge ordered their immediate arrest and imposed a fine of rupees 45 million ($6 million). A former court employee, Dinesh Chandra Sharma, and two others were also sentenced to prison on similar charges. Two other accused died during the trial.
Neelam Krishnamoorthy, who lost her two children in the blaze, expressed happiness over the conviction of the brothers, saying the court has vindicated their decades-long stand.
“This was long overdue, it has taken me a quarter of a century to get justice for my children,” Ms Krishnamoorthy told The National.
“My husband and I have spent 25 years of life going to court in the hope of getting justice as I strongly believe there can be no peace without justice and my children deserve it,” she said.
The Uphaar cinema blaze case has remained in the national headlines for decades and symbolise India’s ineffective justice system.
Considered as the worst fire tragedy in the country, 59 people were killed and more than 100 were injured in the blaze during the screening of Bollywood blockbuster Border.
The fire caused, by a short circuit in the car park, had engulfed the entire building that lacked fire safety mechanism.
Most people died in the ensuing stampede or were asphyxiated as the exit doors were illegally blocked by extra chairs, court had found.
A trial court in 2007 had convicted the brothers of manslaughter and sentenced them to two years in prison but within weeks they were granted bail by the Delhi High Court. The Supreme Court stepped in and cancelled their bail amid a nationwide outrage.
But the Delhi High Court in 2008 reduced their sentencing to one-year before the Supreme Court again granted them bail in 2009.
The Supreme Court in 2015 suspended their jail terms on the condition that the brothers pay a fine of 600 million rupees for the construction of a medical trauma centre in Delhi.
The apex court in 2011 also halved the 250 million rupees payout to the victim families.
The court rulings had caused furore among the victim families, who had termed the undue judicial reprieves to the powerful businessmen as a failure of India’s justice system.
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
Is it worth it? We put cheesecake frap to the test.
The verdict from the nutritionists is damning. But does a cheesecake frappuccino taste good enough to merit the indulgence?
My advice is to only go there if you have unusually sweet tooth. I like my puddings, but this was a bit much even for me. The first hit is a winner, but it's downhill, slowly, from there. Each sip is a little less satisfying than the last, and maybe it was just all that sugar, but it isn't long before the rush is replaced by a creeping remorse. And half of the thing is still left.
The caramel version is far superior to the blueberry, too. If someone put a full caramel cheesecake through a liquidiser and scooped out the contents, it would probably taste something like this. Blueberry, on the other hand, has more of an artificial taste. It's like someone has tried to invent this drink in a lab, and while early results were promising, they're still in the testing phase. It isn't terrible, but something isn't quite right either.
So if you want an experience, go for a small, and opt for the caramel. But if you want a cheesecake, it's probably more satisfying, and not quite as unhealthy, to just order the real thing.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
