A public interest litigation petition (PIL) has been filed before the Bombay High Court at Goa seeking a court-monitored into the Arpora nightclub fire that killed at least 25 people [Aishwarya Arjun Salgaonkar v. State of Goa & Ors.]..The tragedy happened late on the night of December 6 when a fire broke out at the nightclub ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ in North Goa’s Arpora. Preliminary investigation revealed that the blaze began in the basement of the club around midnight. The fire allegedly spread from the basement to the first floor, which has a bar and restaurant..The petition filed by social activist Aishwarya Salgaonkar has claimed that at least 25 persons, mostly workers, died, with the Director General of Goa Police reporting that most bodies were recovered from the kitchen area. This, according to the petition, indicated that the staff was trapped without escape routes..The petitioner’s lawyer, advocate Ankur Kumar, mentioned the matter before a division bench of Justices Sarang V Kotwal and Ashish S Chavan, which listed the matter for hearing on December 16.According to the petitioner, many of the victims were tourists and many victims died of suffocation due to lack of ventilation.The petition cited reports that the nightclub had been operating without a valid construction licence and despite multiple demolition orders.“This shows a shocking failure of municipal, panchayat and district authorities to enforce even the most basic statutory requirements intended to protect public life,” the plea stated..As per the plea, fire brigades had to halt nearly 400 metres away because of a narrow single‑lane approach road which was in violation of National Building Code norms that mandate a six‑metre‑wide approach for emergency vehicles.Thus, flouting the norm effectively made fire‑service access impossible.“The Chief Minister Pramod Sawant himself admitted publicly that the nightclub had not followed fire-safety norms, the doors were congested and there was no proper ventilation, which resulted in suffocation of most victims,” the petition stated..The petition drew parallels to an earlier tragedy on May 3, 2025, when a stampede during the annual Lairai Jatra at Shree Lairai Devi Temple in Shirgao killed seven people and injured around 80.This was allegedly after poorly tied rope barricades collapsed on a sloping pathway crowded with 30,000–40,000 devotees in darkness amid inadequate police deployment and lack of alternative routes..According to the petitioner, both incidents expose a disturbing pattern of illegal constructions, disregard of the National Building Code, absence of fire‑safety audits, poor police preparedness and violations of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and National Disaster Management Authority guidelines on mass gatherings..Hence, unless the High Court intervenes, illegal commercial establishments and unregulated mass gatherings will continue to claim innocent lives in Goa, it was submitted.“The State has failed to initiate meaningful safety reforms, to enforce licensing norms across the coastline and tourist belts, to conduct routine fire-safety inspections or adopt compliant crowd protocols,” the plea said..Hence, a judicial commission headed by a retired High Court judge should inquire into crowd‑management failures and administrative negligence. Further, the State should conduct a statewide fire‑safety audit of all nightclubs, hotels, bars, beach venues and other public‑assembly buildings and close or demolish all establishments that lack requisite permissions, it was submitted..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.
