Goa nightclub fire: Supreme Court upholds Bombay HC decision to cancel bail of owners

The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the order of the Bombay High Court cancelling the bail granted to Saurabh Luthra, Gaurav Luthra and Ajay Gupta, the three co-owners of the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, which was gutted by a fire in December 2025 killing 25 people.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu dismissed the appeals filed by the owners and directed them to surrender before the authorities within two weeks.

The Court also urged the trial court to speed up the process of framing charges.

The case relates to the fire that broke out on the night of December 6, 2025 at the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in North Goa’s Arpora. 

The fire led to the death of 25 people.

Police investigations revealed that the club operated without valid safety clearances or adequate firefighting equipment. The blaze was reportedly sparked by an indoor fire show conducted without necessary precautions. The police have also claimed that the restaurant was functioning without a valid trade license. 

The Luthra brothers fled to Thailand hours after the blaze before they were later deported and arrested by Goa Police.

They were booked along with other partners, the club’s manager, event organisers and staff under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for offences including culpable homicide not amounting to murder, acts endangering life and negligent conduct with respect to fire, read with common intention.

additional sessions court at Mapusa in North Goa later granted bail to them.

While Gupta was granted bail on March 23, the Luthra brothers were granted bail on April 1.

The State then approached the High Court against the same.

Justice Neela Gokhale of High Court on August 19 allowed the appeal filed by the State and cancelled the bail.

The accused then approached the Supreme Court which dismissed the bail pleas today.

Senior Advocates Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Shyam Divan and Siddhartha Dave appeared for the accused persons.

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju with advocates Surjendu Sankar Das, Annie Mittal and Vishwajeet Shekhawat, appeared for the State of Goa.

[Read Live Coverage]