New Delhi, Jan 11: A former Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) employee, serving seven-year rigorous imprisonment in Uphaar fire tragedy case approached the Delhi High Court to challenge his conviction on Friday.

Justice H R Malhotra, admitting the appeal of convict Bir Singh, issued notice to the CBI and asked to respond by January 13.

Singh, was a senior electrician with the DVB, he had repaired the transformer at Uphaar cinema on the morning of 13th June, 1997, the day of a devastating fire at the theatre.

Challenging his conviction, he said he had no involvement or role in the incident and that he had wrongly been held guilty under Section 304 part II (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The court, however, refused him bail by suspending his sentence saying that the other party (CBI) was required to be heard on the issue.

Radha Krishan Sharma, N S Chopra, Ajit Chowdhary (Uphaar managers), Manmohan Unniyal (cinema's gatekeeper), Brij Mohan Satija, A K Gera and Bir Singh, all DVB officials were handed down seven years' jail term.

Fifty-nine people were choked to death, while 109 survived with injuries after the Uphaar Cinema caught fire leading to a stampede on June 13, 1997. (ANI)