Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: Troubles of former Delhi top cop Amod Kanth seem to have returned in the Uphaar cinema fire case as a court on Thursday rejected the CBI’s clean chit granted to him in April.
IPS officer Kanth, who has been accused of allowing more seats than legally permissible at the Uphaar theatre, has been ordered by the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Sanjeev Kumar to present himself on August 20.
The theatre which caught fire in 1997 claimed 59 lives due to asphyxia following smoke caused by the fire during the screening of Hindi film "Border".
The Association of the Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) had sought the prosecution of Kanth, who was then deputy commissioner of police (licensing), and other officers concerned for alleged negligence by violating the Cinematography Act.
Filing its investigation report in a city court, the CBI had said no criminal acts were found against any of the officials of any department other than the 16 people chargesheeted by it in the Uphaar fire tragedy case.
Senior advocate K T S Tulsi, appearing for AVUT, had said that Kanth in October 1979 allowed the theatre owners to retain the extra seats 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 CBI`s closure report was "liable to be rejected."
–Agencies inputs
