As the country marks the 29th anniversary of the Uphaar cinema hall fire tragedy, Neelam Krishnamoorthy, president of the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT), on Saturday called for a dedicated legal framework to address man-made disasters caused by negligence and corruption, in order to ensure stricter punishment in such cases.
The proposed law, she said, should mandate swift investigations, special courts, time-bound trials, and stringent punishments for acts or omissions that lead to loss of life. She said recurring fire incidents in Delhi show that no lessons have been learnt.
“The Supreme Court rejected a curative petition filed by the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) in 2020. We had sought to enhance the charges against the Ansal brothers from Section 304-A (causing death by negligence) to Section 304 Part II (culpable homicide). The plea was rejected because there are no stricter laws in the country when it comes to fire incidents like these. Ours is the only case that reached the apex judicial body, others do not even see a proper trial, or in many cases, even forensics reports do not arrive,” Krishnamoorthy told The Tribune.
“Other courts often refer to the Supreme Court verdict in the Uphaar tragedy to book the culprits and enforce compliance in such tragedies. So when the apex court itself is not looking at the matter as ‘culpable homicide’, what precedent will it set for others to follow?” she asked.
Krishnamoorthy, who lost her two kids in the tragedy, said the country has time and again fallen short of fire safety standards by not adopting latest equipment or filling vacancies as most of the fire safety departments are under-staffed.
“The irony of the situation is a fire snorkel employed by our fire-fighters cannot reach beyond 12 floors, but the authorities have no qualms about giving permission to build 20 to 30 floors in a building. Corruption is the biggest reason behind these frequent fire incidents,” she said.
The AVUT president said there is no political will to prevent such incidents. “How many political parties even include fire safety in their election manifestoes? Rapid urbanisation, inadequate planning and poor enforcement of safety regulations are killing our spaces - both rural and urban,” she said.
Meanwhile, in a statement released on the anniversary, the AVUT highlighted recent incidents such as the fire at Flourish Stay Hotel in Malviya Nagar as evidence that crucial lessons from the 1997 tragedy have not been learned.
Despite almost three decades of advocacy for accountability and safer public spaces, the AVUT said preventable disasters continue due to regulatory failures, weak enforcement, and the absence of effective deterrents against those responsible for safety violations.
The association also observed a troubling pattern in which safety norms are neglected and statutory clearances, including no objection certificates (NOCs), are reportedly granted without sufficient scrutiny.
