Goa nightclub fire: Luthra brothers get bail but remain in custody

Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, owners of the Goa nightclub where a fire killed 25, were granted bail in the fire case. However, they remain in jail after being taken into custody by Mapusa Police for an alleged NOC forgery.

The Court of the Additional Sessions Judge at Merces, Goa, has granted regular bail to accused Gaurav Luthra and Saurabh Luthra in connection with the alleged nightclub fire incident in Goa on Wednesday. The Luthra brothers are co-owners of the 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub, in which 25 people died, and several others were injured in a fire on December 6, 2025. The accused were represented by Senior Advocate Subodh Kantak, instructed by Advocate Vaibhav Suri and SKRB Law Office.

However, they will not be released from jail at present, as the Mapusa Police on Monday took custody of brothers Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, owners of the Arpora-based nightclub, Birch by Romeo Lane, in connection with the alleged forgery of a no-objection certificate (NOC).

Legal Proceedings and Background

On March 24, the district court at Mapusa in North Goa on Tuesday granted bail to Ajay Gupta, co-owner of the 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub, where a tragic fire in December last year claimed 25 lives. Gupta, who was arrested in New Delhi over three months ago, secured bail, his lawyer Rohan Desai told ANI.

Earlier, on December 16, last year, the Luthra brothers were brought from Delhi to Goa after being deported from Thailand. The government initiated criminal proceedings against the club owners over alleged negligence and violation of mandatory safety norms after a fire at the Arpora nightclub on December 6 that claimed 25 lives.

Details of Criminal Charges

The Luthra brothers, despite knowing that the restaurant lacks emergency exit doors on the ground or deck floors for evacuation in an emergency, organised the fire show, police said.

The Goa Police had filed a criminal case dated December 7 at the Police Station Arpora Anjuna, North Goa, under sections 105, 125, 125(a), 125(b), and 287, read with 3(5) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023.

Action Against Panchayat Officials

Earlier in January, the Goa government had dismissed Arpora Village Panchayat Sarpanch, Roshan Redkar, and Panchayat Secretary of Arpora-Nagoa Village Panchayat, Raghuvir Bagkar, from service, finding "persistent negligence" in the 'Birch by Romeo Lane' fire case.

Directorate of Panchayats, based on the Magisterial Inquiry Committee Report on the nightclub mishap, noted that the Sarpanch, "presided over meetings where the irregularities of the subject premises were either ignored or tacitly approved." The report said that the Birch establishment was initially operated in a temporary shed and was converted into a nightclub "without any conversion sanad or approved building plans."

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