Goa nightclub fire case: SC junks owners' bail pleas, orders surrender in 2 weeks

The Supreme Court upheld the cancellation of bail for three co-owners of a Goa nightclub where 25 people died in a fire. The ruling requires them to surrender within two weeks and pushes the trial court to speed up charges.Visuals showing the aftermath of a massive fire that gripped Birch by Romeo Lane in Goa on December 6 last year, which claimed 25 lives. (Photo: PTI)The Supreme Court on Monday refused to interfere with a Bombay High Court order cancelling the bail of the three co-owners of a Goa nightclub where a fire killed 25 people and injured more than 50 on December 6 last year.A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu dismissed the petitions filed by Saurabh Luthra, Gaurav Luthra and Ajay Gupta, the co-owners of Birch by Romeo Lane in Arpora, North Goa.The top court upheld the High Court's August 18 order, directed the trio to surrender within two weeks, and asked the lower court to expedite the trial by speeding up the framing of charges. The case relates to the blaze at the nightclub, which is alleged to have been operating without proper licences and safety measures.Appearing for the Luthra brothers, senior advocates Abhishek M Singhvi and Siddharth Dave told the court that the case was not one of direct intentional offence and was at best one of alleged negligence. Dave said there was no act on the part of the Luthra brothers that led to the killings. He told the court, "Section 304, part II (of IPC) is wholly and can never be applied to this case. There is no act of mine which has caused death. Maximum, if the prosecution wants to succeed in this case, then it can be under Section 304A (causing death by negligence)."Justice Datta then asked Singhvi how many people had lost their lives in the restaurant. Singhvi replied that 25 people had died and submitted that the high court judgment suffered from two basic errors. He also said several other co-accused had been granted bail in the case. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for Gupta, said his client had only a 10 per cent share in the business and had nothing to do with the incident.Additional Solicitor General SV Raju and standing counsel Surjendu Sankar Das, appearing for the Goa government, opposed the petitions and said the high court had already directed the trio to surrender within two weeks. While dismissing the petitions, the bench said that the three had two weeks from Monday to surrender.The Luthra brothers had left for Phuket in Thailand shortly after the fire, after which an Interpol Blue Corner Notice was issued against them. They were detained by Thai authorities in Phuket on December 11 following the intervention of the Indian mission, which was in close touch with the Thai government.A Delhi court later granted Goa Police a two-day transit remand on December 16, 2025 after they were brought back to India.In its August 18 order, the Bombay High Court had set aside the bail granted to the trio by a trial court in April this year. The high court said the trial court had failed to properly consider the material collected during the investigation and had erred in saying the offence was not as heinous as murder or dacoity.It noted that the restaurant was allegedly operating without licences, that the structure was unauthorised, and that the accused and their partners allegedly knew the risks of holding fire displays indoors without adequate safety measures.The High Court also referred to allegations that forged documents were used to obtain licences and said there were no adequate fire safety installations or emergency measures, leaving many victims unable to escape. It had, however, said the accused were free to apply for bail again after surrender, and that such pleas would be considered by the trial court on their own merits and in accordance with law.With the Supreme Court declining to grant relief, the three co-owners of the Goa nightclub must now surrender within two weeks, while the trial court has been asked to move faster on framing charges in the case arising from the fire that killed 25 people.- EndsPublished By: India Today Web Desk Published On: Aug 31, 2026 15:15 IST