Sushil Ansal v. State Through CBI
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.597 OF 2010 (With Crl. Appeals No.598/2010, 599/2010, 600-602/2010, 604/2010, 605-616/2010 and 617-627/2010)
JUDGEMENT on March 5, 2014.
In the present case every rule in the book had been violated with impunity, whether it be the maintenance of the transformer, illegal user of the area around the transformer, closure of gangways and exit in the balcony. Not only that the transformer was not kept in a safe environment, the area around the transformer had been filled with combustible substances so as to aggravate the danger. The public announcement system, emergency lights etc which are the most basic requirements in the cinema hall were non functional. On top of that, the illegal closure of exit in the balcony ensured that patrons could not make a speedy exit. In such a scenario it can easily be said that not only were they negligent but the negligence was of such a high degree that no reasonable man would have undertaken such a course specially the ones who were dealing in the business of running a cinema theatre where the lives of public at large were involved day in and day out as visitors to the cinema show. The Supreme Court deem it just and appropriate to allow both the appeals by enhancing their sentence upto the maximum period of two years prescribed under IPC for offence under Section 304A but in lieu of the additional period of sentence of one year, a substantial amount of fine to be specified hereinafter is directed to be paid by the appellants Sushil Ansal, Gopal Ansal and DVB in view of gross negligence on the part of their employees in order to compensate the charge of criminal negligence established against these accused persons…read more