Senior advocate KTS Tulsi, appearing for Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy, had said former IPS officer Amod Kanth in October 1979 allowed the theatre owners to retain the extra seats.
A Delhi court today said it may pronounce its order on August 12 on a plea by a body of victims of 1997 Uphaar cinema hall fire tragedy seeking rejection of CBI's report giving a clean chit to former IPS officer Amod Kanth in the case.
"List the matter for pronouncement of order on August 12," metropolitan magistrate Sanjeev Kumar said.
The court has to decide on the protest petition of the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) and CBI's report disfavouring prosecution of Kanth.
AVUT alleged Kanth, as the then deputy commissioner of Delhi police (licensing), had allowed extra seats in Uphaar cinema hall's balcony which allegedly led to closure of exit gates, leading to the death of 59 people due to asphyxia following smoke caused by the fire during screening of Hindi film "Border".
Senior advocate KTS Tulsi, appearing for AVUT, had said Kanth in October 1979 allowed the theatre owners to retain the extra seats and this order was in contravention of the affidavit filed by him before the Delhi high court.
The plea of CBI that the 37 extra seats were allowed by the police officer as per the technical advice was wrong as he himself had visited the theatre, Tulsi had said, adding the CBI's closure report was "liable to be rejected."
Earlier, CBI, in pursuance of a Delhi high court order, had filed a report after probing the role of Kanth and favoured his non-prosecution, saying he did not commit any offence and had acted as per the technical advice.
The agency, in its report, had said there was no witness to the fact that it was Kanth who had allowed the extra seats in the theatre for any consideration.
Fifty nine victims died of asphyxia caused by smoke due to the fire on June 13, 1997, as they could not come out due to blockage of exit gates when the blaze had engulfed the theatre.
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