New Delhi, October 13
The Supreme Court today reduced to half the compensation awarded to the victims of the June 1997 fire tragedy at Uphaar theatre here. Families of those killed in the above-20 age group would now get Rs 10 lakh against Rs 18 lakh awarded by the Delhi High Court. For the below-20 age group, the compensation has been brought down from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 7.5 lakh.

A Bench comprising Justices RV Raveendran and KS Radhakirshnan also drastically cut the punitive damages to Rs 25 lakh, which is just 10 per cent of the Rs 2.5 crore slapped by the HC on the cinema hall owners - the Ansal brothers, Gopal and Sushil.

The Ansal brothers would have to pay up 85 per cent of the compensation, while the Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) would bear the remaining 15 per cent. The SC, however, upheld the 9 per cent interest awarded by the HC on the compensation amount for the delayed payment.

The Bench clarified that the compensation amount would be in addition to the ex gratia extended by the Central Government and the Delhi administration.

The apex court also upheld the Rs 1 lakh compensation awarded to those injured in the fire. As many as 59 persons were killed and 103 injured in the incident.

The reason for the Bench drastically cutting the victims’ compensation and Ansal brothers’ liability could not be ascertained immediately as the copy of the judgment was not available till late in the night. The Judges read out only the operative portion of the verdict in the open court, without giving reasons for the cuts.

Issuing a slew of safety guidelines to prevent such ghastly accidents, the apex court said every cinema hall should have an emergency evacuation plan. The theatres across the country would have to screen a short documentary during every show explaining the exit routes and doors along with instructions on others things that have to be followed by the film buffs.

The ushers and other cinema hall staff should be trained in fire combat operations. While the theatre operators were entitled to regulate the exit, under no circumstances should the exit doors be bolted from outside.

It would be mandatory for the fire and electricity departments and the licensing authority to review the safety measures at the theatres every six months.

The state and other governments should try to put in place a single, unified authority to deal with all aspects of structural and electrical engineering. Each theatre should be given a fire safety rating - green for full compliance, yellow for satisfactory facilities and red for non-compliance - which should be displayed. Mock drills on fire safety should be conducted in all the theatres every year.