Webseries based on Uphaar Fire Tragedy will be released on Friday

New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court on Thursday rejected a plea from Sushil Ansal, convicted in the 1997 Uphaar cinema fire case, to delay the release of the web series ‘Trial by Fire’, allegedly based on the incident and scheduled for release on Netflix on January 13.

Justice Yashwant Varma denied the preliminary injunction to Ansal and said a detailed order will be uploaded on the court’s website later.

During the screening of the Hindi movie ‘Border’ on June 13, 1997, a massive fire had broken out at the Uphaar cinema, killing 59 people.

Ansal, alleging defamation, had urged the court to issue an injunction against the release of the web series, saying that even the teaser was viewed 1.5 million times in four days, demonstrating the immediate impact.

The lawsuit of 83-year-old Ansal also sought to stop the distribution and publication of a book titled ‘Trial by Fire – The Tragical Tale of the Uphaar Tragedy’, which was launched in 2016.

Ansal claimed that the web series directly attacks his personality.

Ansal’s plea was vehemently opposed by counsel for the web series’ producers, Netflix, and the book’s authors — Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy — who lost their two children in the fire tragedy.

In his plea, Ansal said he has been “punished both legally and socially” and that the release of the series, based on the book written by a couple who lost their two children to the fire, will irreparably damage and tarnish his reputation . right to privacy.

“The events are causing and will result in loss of reputation of the plaintiff, public trial, humiliation, stigmatization and irreparable harm, along with causing serious harm to the requests for review pending in this court arising from the (evidence) tampering,” reads the lawsuit. said.

In 2017, the Supreme Court had finally ruled on the Uphaar cinema fire case and sentenced the now 83-year-old Sushil Ansal and his brother Gopal Ansal (74) to pay a fine of Rs 30 crore each.

The highest court then released Sushil Ansal, taking into account the period he had already spent in prison.

The Ansal brothers and two others were later found guilty of tampering with the evidence related to the trial.

(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)