Tampering with judicial records is a crime worse than murder or dacoity,

NEW DELHI: "Tampering with judicial records is a crime worse than murder or dacoity," the Supreme Court said today while cancelling the bail of Sushil and Gopal Ansal, owners of Uphaar cinema where 59 cinegoers were killed in a fire tragedy in 1997. ( Watch ) 

The court directed the real estate barons, who were sentenced to two years' imprisonment and granted bail later in the fire tragedy case, to surrender before ACMM at Patiala House district courts by 4 pm on Thursday. 

The apex court also cancelled the bail granted to Ajit Chowdhary and Nirmal Chopra, managers of the theatre, who were awarded seven years of imprisonment in the fire tragedy case and also directed them to surrender. 

A bench of Justices B N Agrawal and G S Singhvi which initially ordered "forthwith arrest" of the accused, however, on the plea of senior counsel Fali S Nariman modified its order and said that the four shall surrender before the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Patiala "latest" by Thursday. 

The apex court passed the orders on the petition filed by the Association of Victims of the Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) challenging the bail granted to Ansal brothers and the two other convicts by the Delhi High Court. 

It also rejected the bail plea of B N Satija, a former Delhi Vidyuth Board Employee and Manmohan Unniyal, gatekeeper of the theatre. 

The apex court, in the same order, also requested the Delhi High Court Chief Justice to constitute a "appropriate" bench for hearing the appeal proceedings relating to the convictions in the fire tragedy case.