Trial by Fire: Delhi High Court rejects Sushil Ansal’s plea seeking stay on Netflix show based on Uphaar fire

The Delhi High Court has rejected real estate baron Sushil Ansal’s plea seeking a stay on the Netflix show Trial by Fire, which is based on the Uphaar fire tragedy. Ansal is one of the accused in the tragedy, which led to the death of 59 people in Delhi’s Uphaar Cinema in 1997. The series stars Abhay Deol and Rajshri Deshpande.

In his suit, Ansal had sought permanent and mandatory injunction against the series, asking for a stay on its release and further publication of the book of the same name, upon which the show is based. The book Trial by Fire has been authored by Neelam Krishnamoorthy and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy, who lost their two kids in the Uphaar Cinema fire.

Justice Yashwant Varma rejected the plea, noting that the book was initially published in 2016 and Ansal never sought action against it in all this time. The court also noted that it had no time to view the web series and granting injunctive reliefs before it is viewed would be inappropriate, according to a Live Law report.

Undisputedly the work authored by defendants 4 and 5 was published way back in 2016. This is clearly evident from the various newspaper articles and media reports which have been placed for the perusal of the Court. The plaintiff chose, for reasons best known to him, not to initiate any injunctive action in respect of the said work when it came to be originally published on 19 September 2016. A slothful or sluggish plaintiff seeking an injunction of the nature which is sought in these proceedings cannot be allowed to claim such reliefs,” the court said. The series began streaming on Netlfix on Friday, January 13.

The Uphaar Cinema fire took place on June 13, 1997 while the Green Park theatre was screening the Hindi film Border. 59 people were trapped inside the hall and died and 103 were seriously injured in the resulting stampede. The victims and the families of the deceased later formed The Association of Victims of Uphaar Fire Tragedy, which fought a long battle against the Ansals, owners of Uphaar Cinema. The victims were awarded Rs 25 crore in compensation by the Supreme Court, one of the highest ever in Indian civil law history.