Ministries get court notices on cinema fire

The Delhi high court on Wednesday issued notices to the ministries of home and information and broadcasting on a public interest petition asking the government to initiate steps for preventing an ''Uphaar'' type of fire tragedy.

A division bench comprising of Justices Arun Kumar and Dalveer Bhandari also issued notices to the Delhi government, the Press Council of India, the New Delhi Municipal Council, the Delhi fire service, the Delhi Development Authority and the Delhi Vidyut Board.

The bench asked the respondents to reply to the notice by October 15, the next date of hearing in the case.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Common Cause, a non-governmental organisation.

Prabhat Kumar, the petitioner's counsel, also urged the court to direct the the Centre and the Delhi government to put in place a credible system of investigation.

The petition also sought appropriate directions to the Press Council of India and the information and broadcasting ministry to formulate and strictly enforce the existing rules so that a case is not tried through the media.

UNI