Uphaar case: Gopal Ansal fails to get immediate relief in SC

Image courtesy: PTI

New Delhi: Real estate baron Gopal Ansal yet again failed to get immediate relief on Friday from the Supreme Court which said it would order listing of his appeal on March 6 in the Uphaar fire tragedy case. Gopal has sought relief that he should not be asked to serve one-year jail term like his elder brother Sushil Ansal in the case of 1997 fire tragedy in which 59 people were killed. "You file an appeal. It will be listed on Monday if there is no objection," a bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar said when senior advocate Ram Jethmalani, appearing for Gopal Ansal, submitted that the apex court Registry did not take his plea on record. Jethmalani also sought a relief that Gopal be granted liberty not to surrender to jail till the hearing of his appeal. "It cannot be extended. We can't say that he does not need to surrender in the mean time," the bench, which also comprised Justices D Y Chandrachud and S K Kaul, said. A bench, in a 2:1 majority verdict on February 9, had granted relief to 76-year-old Sushil considering his "advanced age-related complications" by awarding him the jail term already undergone and had asked younger sibling Gopal to surrender in four weeks to serve remaining one-year jail term in the 20-year-old case.