The prosecution challenged the bail granted to the Luthra brothers and Ajay Gupta alleging that the offence was of serious nature

Published on: Aug 18, 2026, 16:50:02 IST

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The Bombay high court at Goa on Tuesday cancelled the bail granted to the owners of Birch by Romeo Lane, a nightclub illegally operating at Arpora in North Goa where a fire claimed 25 lives.

Saurav and Gaurav Luthra along with their business partner Ajay Gupta– partners in M/s Being GS Hospitality Arpora LLP, the company that ran Birch by Romeo Lane at Arpora– were earlier granted bail by the trial court in April this year.

However, they are not expected to return to jail; they have been granted two weeks to surrender before the trial court, during which, they can re-apply for bail.

“The court has allowed all the five applications — one each concerning the three accused in the case of culpable homicide in connection with the fire — and two applications accused of forgery in the process of obtaining permissions for the nightclub. They have been granted two weeks to surrender and also granted the liberty to seek bail before the trial court,” advocate Somnath Karpe, speaking on behalf of the prosecution said.

The prosecution challenged the bail granted to the Luthra brothers and Ajay Gupta alleging that the offence was of serious nature.

In the fire case, the trio were granted bail on April 1, while in the second FIR, the Luthra brothers were granted bail eight days later.

According to the chargesheet, the accused committed crimes under section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 125(a)(b) (act so rashly or negligently as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others), negligent conduct with respect to the fire and combustible matter, section 336 (forgery), 338 (using a forged document as real), 340(2) and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The chargesheet alleges that on account of “irresponsible acts of the accused persons” 25 people lost their lives in a mass casualty event causing “irreparable loss which shattered 25 families” reflecting gross criminal negligence and utter disregard for human life and complete failure of the accused to adhere to statutory and safety norms.”

A second FIR, in which the brothers sought anticipatory bail, 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 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 on December 16 and have been in custody since then.

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