Uphaar tragedy: Ansal to withdraw suit against Netflix series

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court On Monday Allowed Real Estate Magnate Sushil Ansal To Withdraw His Plea Seeking To Stay The Release Of The Netflix Series Trial Fire which Is Based On The 1997 Uphaar Cinema Fire Tragedy.

The court had, on January 12, refused to stay the release of the series, which was released the next day.

The plea was listed before Justice Yashwant Varma, who was informed by Ansal's counsel that he wants to withdraw the plea.

Ansal had filed a suit seeking permanent and mandatory injunction against the series and a restraint of further publication and circulation of the book titled "Trial By Fire - The tragic tale of the Uphaar Tragedy" by Neelam and Shekhar Krishnamoorthy, who lost their two young children in the 1997 catastrophe.

Representing Ansal, senior advocate Siddharth Aggarwal had stated that Ansal's real name is used three times in the trailer, hurting his reputation and other rights, despite the series' warning that it is a piece of fiction.

In response, Justice Varma had said: "This may be their critique of their judgment and anguish of the parents, but it cannot be a claim for defamation."

Senior advocate Vikas Pahwa had argued on behalf of Krishnamoorthy that Ansal was previously aware of the book's publishing because it was mentioned in a 2012 plea presented to the Supreme Court.

Ansal has contended that the publication of the contested series will further harm him and will constitute a major violation of his fundamental rights, particularly his right to privacy.

Recently, the High Court issued a notice to Ansal and his brother Gopal Ansal and other convicts on a revision petition by the state challenging a trial court's order of reducing their sentence from seven years to eight months for allegedly tampering with evidence in the 1997 Uphaar Cinema fire tragedy case.