The Supreme Court has ordered the 'Upharkand Victims Association' to visit the trauma centres built by the Ansal brothers at a cost of Rs 60 crore.:

News Topical, Digital Desk : The Supreme Court has asked the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) to visit the trauma centres built with Rs 60 crore donated by the Ansal brothers in memory of the 1997 fire tragedy victims.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjwal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh asked senior advocate Jayant Mehta, appearing for AVUT, to ask a member of the association to visit these trauma centres to verify the Delhi government's claim.

The bench said – it is not appropriate to reopen the wounds of the victims

The bench said that it was not appropriate to repeatedly reopen the wounds of the victims of the Uphaar case and that the dispute should now be closed in an honourable manner. Dissatisfied with the implementation of the apex court's action, the AVUT had complained that the Supreme Court's 2015 order had not been complied with and, in effect, the accused had been spared without consequences.

Mehta said it appears the convicts (Gopal Ansal and Sushil Ansal) took undue advantage of the court's exemption and ₹60 crore went down the drain. The court had ordered the Delhi Vidyut Board to provide five acres of land for the construction of the trauma center, but that did not happen.

The bench asked Additional Solicitor General Archana Pathak Dave, appearing for the Delhi government, whether the Ansal brothers had given Rs 60 crore. Dave replied in the affirmative and said the money was used for the Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Mangolpuri, Satyawadi Raja Harishchandra Hospital in Narela and Sirsapur Hospital.

Mehta said he was not denying the construction of these hospitals and trauma centres by the Delhi government and it was the duty of the state to build such facilities for its people, but the question was of more than Rs 60 crore.

On this, Justice Suryakant said that Rs 60 crore is very less for building and running a hospital in Delhi and said that the Delhi government has added more funds to this amount and developed trauma centre facilities in three hospitals.

When Mehta sought to refer to the court's 2015 decision, the bench said it focused only on the construction of trauma centers. The bench asked Mehta to confirm whether the trauma centers had the required facilities, including emergency response services and ambulances.