In Memoriam: (Left) Candles lit in memory of the victims; (below) Neelam Krishnamurthy in front of Patiala House court

Even today Kanwaljeet Bhalla is haunted by the fact that it was on her insistence that her husband had agreed to see Border in Uphaar cinema hall on that fateful day. You can’t miss the quiver in her voice when she says, “He had said ‘it’s so hot I would rather rest at home’. But when I persisted he finally agreed.” Ironically, except her husband I.S. Bhalla, everyone else who went with her survived the asphyxiation that took 58 other lives when a 1000 KVA transformer in the theatre’s basement burst on June 13, 1997.

Like Bhalla, 27 other families cannot forget that dark day. Even after the faulty transformer had burst, the screening was not discontinued. What’s more, the balcony exits were bolted from outside. As smoke filled the auditorium, many people, unable to get out, suffocated inside.

Ten years on, as the daily trial hearings go on in Delhi’s Patiala House court, the families are still fighting to punish those responsible for this man-made tragedy. Now all their hopes are pinned on the recent high court directive that has imposed a deadline of August 31, 2007, for the completion of the case.

They all agree that time is no healer. “People say life moves on. But though you might not talk about it in front of others, in quiet moments the mind always goes back to old memories. I miss her the most on special occasions,” says Naveen Sawhney, who lost his 21-year-old daughter Tarika in the tragedy.

In the Rahi household in west Delhi’s Hari Nagar, June 13 had always been a day of celebration. It was the birthday of their darling Sudeep, the youngest among R.S. Rahi’s three children. But now it is a day when instead of buying cakes and sweets they go to light candles in Smriti Upvan — a memorial site for Uphaar victims. “We had sent him to celebrate his birthday and got back his body,” recounts a distraught Rahi, who spends most of his time fighting to get justice for his son.

For the Krishnamurthys too, life in the last 10 years has revolved around courts. After losing both their children — Unnati, 17, and Ujjwal, 13 — in the tragedy, the couple have made it their mission to get the accused punished. “We have few needs and no one to leave any assets to,” says Neelam in a heavy voice. Neelam and her husband Shekhar run a garment export business in Delhi but don’t devote much time to it now. Rahi too has left his export business as he had neither time nor inclination to pursue it after Sudeep’s death.

To combat the might of the Ansals — Uphaar’s owners — the victims’ families had formed themselves into an association called the Association of Victims of Uphaar Tragedy (AVUT) soon after the tragedy. Though the case has dragged on for 10 years, AVUT members refuse to give up hope. They have been attending court proceedings regularly. “Kabhi toh hamare bachchon ko insaaf milega (There will be a day when our children will get justice),” sighs Durga Das, who lost his son Ravi. Das, who presses clothes for a living, travels one hour by bus from his house in Mohammadpur in south Delhi to reach the courts.

Though an earlier high court order had set a December 2002 deadline to complete the case, it went unheeded. So the victims’ kin are all hoping that the August 31 deadline will be adhered to. “In our country where the legal system is so accused friendly, we have no other choice but to hold on to that small ray of hope,” says Neelam, who has braved intimidation and even threats, but has refused to come under pressure. The couple have never missed a single court hearing.

Grief and frustration brought them together. And today AVUT is like a family, helping each other in times of need. So when Nanak Chand, father of Yash Pal who had died in the Uphaar tragedy, lost his youngest son in an accident recently, AVUT members were there to comfort him. Rahi has been taking care of all official work for the Amritsar-based Bhinder family that lost its sole earning member, Captain M.S. Bhinder, in the tragedy.

Now well-versed with legal procedures, the association members have also been extending support to victims of other tragedies. For instance, after the Victoria Park fire in Meerut last year, the members visited the victims. With the compensation money they plan to set up a trauma and accident centre and create awareness about fire safety norms.

Just as they have helped others, some have helped them as well. Singer Shubha Mudgal has participated in programmes in the memory of the victims and has helped to raise funds for the association. Senior advocate K.T.S. Tulsi has been the guiding light of AVUT and was instrumental in setting up the association. “I am now involved with them on a personal level and have counselled them on many occasions,” says Tulsi. He fought the case for the victims without ever charging any fee.

Every year on June 13 the families meet at Smriti Upvaan near Uphaar to light candles around a concrete fountain memorial and renew their pledge to get justice. In their case, justice, even if it’s delayed, will be better than justice denied.