Uphaar fire: Delhi govt says it used funds for Dwarka trauma centre for 3 other projects instead

In its affidavit, the Delhi government said there was no state-run hospital in Dwarka at the time to house such a centre

The Delhi government told the Supreme Court that the ₹60-crore penalty paid by Uphaar cinema owners after the 1997 fire tragedy was not spent on building the dedicated Dwarka trauma hospital as ordered, but instead on trauma centres at three other government hospitals.

The bench led by justice Surya Kant will examine the Delhi government’s response on August 25, when AVUT is also expected to file its reply. (Representative photo/HT Archive)

In an affidavit filed last week, the state government said, “The Government of NCT of Delhi has utilized the penal amount of ₹60 crore, along with additional budgetary allocations, for the construction of trauma centres at three government hospitals.”

The amount was deposited by realtors Gopal Ansal and Sushil Ansal under a September 2015 Supreme Court order that reduced their sentence after they were convicted of causing the deaths of 59 people in the Uphaar cinema fire on June 13, 1997.

On July 16, the top court asked the Delhi government to file a status report on how it used the funds. This came after victims’ families complained that their requests for information went unanswered. The Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) reminded the court that the 2015 order required a trauma hospital in Dwarka, in memory of the victims.

The 2015 judgment held the Ansal brothers guilty of causing death due to negligence and sentenced them to two years’ imprisonment. However, one year of that sentence was substituted for a ₹60-crore fine, to be shared equally by the two brothers, with the express purpose of establishing a trauma facility in Dwarka.

In its affidavit, the Delhi government said there was no state-run hospital in Dwarka at the time to house such a centre. The funds, received in November 2015, were reallocated in the 2020-21 budget under “Health Projects” and “PWD Maintenance.” The affidavit did not specify how much of the ₹60 crore went to each hospital.

The government said the funds were used to set up trauma centres at Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, Mangolpuri (budget outlay: over ₹117 crore), Satyawadi Raja Harish Chander Hospital, Narela (over ₹244 crore), and Siraspur Hospital (over ₹487 crore). Work on these projects began in 2020 and is to be completed between December 2025 and June 2026.

The state said it had not only complied with the court’s directions but had “gone beyond” them by establishing trauma centres at three locations to maximise public benefit. The three hospitals, it added, were chosen on the basis of urgent public need in high-density and underserved areas of Delhi.

The bench led by justice Surya Kant will examine the Delhi government’s response on August 25, when AVUT is also expected to file its reply.

In its application, AVUT has criticised the government’s handling of the funds, alleging inaction for a decade since the funds were deposited with the chief secretary’s office on November 9, 2015. “The trauma centre envisaged in this court’s directions remains a non-starter, with no discernible steps having been taken towards its construction,” the association said.

AVUT, represented by advocate Diksha Rai, accused the authorities of showing “continued inaction and lethargy” despite repeated applications under the Right to Information Act and even a 2021 letter to the Chief Justice of India. “The funds allocated for the trauma centre continue to remain unutilised, and the proposed facility remains a mere concept on paper. The alarming disregard towards judicial directions is compounded by the urgent need for improved healthcare infrastructure,” the plea said.

The Ansal brothers were convicted under IPC sections 304A (causing death by negligence), 337 (endangering life), and 338 (causing grievous hurt), among others. The case saw a split verdict in 2014 before a three-judge bench fixed the penalty at ₹60 crore in September 2015. A review petition by AVUT was later dismissed in 2017, although the court reiterated that the fine must be used to build a trauma hospital dedicated to the victims.