Real estate barons Sushil Ansal and Gopal Ansal moved the Supreme Court on Monday seeking de-sealing of the Uphaar cinema hall.
59 people lost their lives in 1997 in a blaze when a Bollywood movie was being screened in the theatre. People died of asphyxia when the fire broke out during the screening of the movie Border in Uphaar theatre in Green Park area of South Delhi on 13 June 1997.
Over 100 were also injured in the subsequent stampede.
A bench comprising Chief Justice TS Thakur and Justices DY Chandrachud and L Nageswara Rao said it will discuss the matter with Justice AR Dave, who had heard the petition in the case.
SC Says No Jail for Ansals, Just 60 Crore Fine
Earlier this year, a three-judge bench comprising justices Dave, Kurian Joseph and AK Goel had decided to hear in an open court the petitions filed by CBI and the AVUT seeking review of its 2015 verdict.
As per the verdict, Sushil and Gopal Ansal were required to serve two-year jail term if they failed to pay Rs 30 crore each. The Ansals have deposited the amount.
The review plea filed by AVUT had said the apex court judgements "bestow an unwarranted leniency on convicts whose conviction in the most heinous of offences has been upheld by all courts including this court and sentences imposed on them have been substituted with fine without assigning any reason or basis."
"The sentences of the convicts have been reduced to the period undergone without taking into account the gravity of their offence," it had said.
The CBI, in its review plea, had said the apex court did not give it time to put its views forth which has resulted in "miscarriage of justice".
"Due to the paucity of time on the day on which this case was heard, the prosecution could not adequately put across the reasons why this court should not substitute a monetary fine in place of a jail sentence. This petition also seeks to raise issue of an apparent error of law in the judgement and order of this court which has occasioned a grave miscarriage of justice," the agency had said in its plea.
The agency had also said that the "callousness" of the Ansal brothers led to 59 people being trapped and suffocated to death in the theatre.
The apex court had on 19 August 2015 sent Ansal brothers to two-year rigorous jail term if they failed to pay Rs 30 crore each within three months.
In a judgement on 23 September 2015, the bench had said the "magnitude" of the case "calls for a higher sentence" but the court has to limit itself to the choice available under the law.
(With inputs from PTI)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)