Dikhyaa Mohanty 
In the 1997 Uphaar fire catastrophe case, when 59 moviegoers perished, the Supreme Court on Thursday halted the trial court proceedings against retired IPS officer Amod Kanth due to a lack of support for his prosecution. The magistrate erred in taking cognizance against Kanth, who was then a senior Delhi Police officer, in violation of the requirements of Section 197 of the CrPC, according to a bench led by Justice K.M. Joseph. In November 2013, the highest court ordered a suspension of the trial court’s proceedings against Kanth and requested that the CBI provide a response to the case.
According to the bench, which also included Justices B.V. Nagarathna and Aravind Kumar, Kanth has succeeded on this brief issue alone of absence of sanction. The judgment also allowed Kanth’s appeal, set aside the contested ruling, and declared the process to be null and void. The case surrounding the de-sealing of the Uphaar movie hall will be discussed at the next scheduled hearing, which is set for next week.
However, the highest court made it plain that its ruling would not prevent the relevant authorities from making a decision in the case and from imposing legal sanctions against the appellant. Kanth filed a petition with the Supreme Court to challenge the Delhi High Court’s decision to uphold the summons in October 2013. He had appealed the trial court’s decision to summon him for permitting additional seats in the theater.
