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Goa nightclub fire: Court rejects Luthra brothers’ bail plea
Mapusa court rejects bail of Luthra brothers in 25-death Goa nightclub fire; owners of Birch by Romeo Lane remain in custody
Panaji: The District and Sessions Court at Mapusa has rejected the bail pleas filed by the Luthra brothers — Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, owners and operators of Birch by Romeo Lane, the Goa nightclub where a devastating fire killed 25 people on the intervening night of December 6 and 7.
The judgment was pronounced by District Judge Apurva Nagvenkar in open court on Thursday.
Defence advocate Parag Rao, representing the Luthra brothers, said they would await a copy of the order before deciding their future course of action.
“The court has pronounced that it has rejected the bail application. We don’t have the copy of the order. Once we have the copy, we will know what has weighed on the court in rejecting the applications and how the court has dealt with our submissions, especially our argument that Section 105 (of the BNS relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder) was not applicable,” Rao said.
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“We will take our legal recourse once we see the judgment because there are options to go to the High Court, but we’ll have to take instructions from the client and accordingly we’ll take future course of action,” he added.
Advocate Vishnu Joshi, representing the families of the victims in the tragedy, said that the denial of bail represented a small step towards justice for the families who lost loved ones in the tragedy.
“Today is a day of justice for all the people who were affected and who lost family members in the tragedy and a first step towards victory. Yes, it will be a long fight, but we will fight until its fulfilment, until they are convicted. Truth has prevailed,” Joshi said.
The Arpora fire tragedy at Birch by Romeo Lane, an illegally operating nightclub, occurred on the intervening night of December 6 and 7, 2025, and claimed 25 lives. The brothers, who had flown to Thailand within hours of the tragedy, were repatriated to India after an Interpol notice was issued against them and their passports were suspended. They were subsequently arrested and have been in custody since.
Twenty-five people — five tourists and 20 staffers — were killed after a fire, allegedly caused by electrically triggered pyro sparklers ignited as part of an ongoing dance performance at the nightclub. The sparklers allegedly ignited the roof, which was made of bamboo and other natural materials.
The Goa police have, to date, arrested five managers of the club; owners Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra; Ajay Gupta, the business partner of the Luthra brothers; and Roshan Redkar and Raghuvir Bagkar, the sarpanch and panchayat secretary, respectively, who allegedly allowed the club to operate without licences.
The FIR, filed on December 7, charges them under Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 125(a) and (b) (endangering life and personal safety), and 287 (negligent conduct with fire or combustible matter) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
A second FIR alleging cheating and forgery has also been filed against the Luthras and Ajay Gupta for allegedly fabricating documents as part of the application process.
The brothers are also being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate, which, in raids conducted last month, identified around ₹22 crore in assets that it said were “proceeds of crime.”
