India, Aug. 18 -- The Delhi government told the Supreme Court that the Rs.60-crore penalty paid by Uphaar cinema owners after the 1997 fire tragedy was not spent on building the dedicated Dwarka trauma hospital as ordered, but instead on trauma centres at three other government hospitals.

In an affidavit filed last week, the state government said, "The Government of NCT of Delhi has utilized the penal amount of Rs.60 crore, along with additional budgetary allocations, for the construction of trauma centres at three government hospitals."

The amount was deposited by realtors Gopal Ansal and Sushil Ansal under a September 2015 Supreme Court order that reduced their sentence after they were convicted of causing the deaths of 59 people in t...