14 September,2026 07:08 PM IST | Goa | mid-day online correspondent
The December 2025 fire at the Arpora nightclub claimed 25 lives and left several others injured. FILE PIC
The three main accused in the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub fire case surrendered before a Goa court on Monday, two weeks after the Supreme Court rejected their pleas challenging the cancellation of their bail, news agency PTI reported.
The December 2025 fire at the Arpora nightclub claimed 25 lives and left several others injured.
Nightclub owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, along with their business partner Ajay Gupta, turned themselves in before the Mapusa Additional District and Sessions Court after the Supreme Court directed them to surrender.
The court accepted their surrender and issued the necessary remand orders, Advocate Saumya Drago, who represents the accused, confirmed.
The fatal fire broke out at Birch by Romeo Lane in Arpora, North Goa, on December 6, 2025, killing 25 people and injuring several others.
The Supreme Court on August 31 dismissed the accused's petitions challenging the Bombay High Court's order cancelling their bail and directed them to surrender within two weeks. The apex court also instructed the trial court to expedite the proceedings.
Speaking to reporters, Drago said an application was also filed before the court seeking certain medical accommodations for her clients, based on their medical history, doctors' prescriptions, and medical records.
While the court permitted their request regarding medicines and a mattress, it kept the request for special footwear pending and sought a response from the investigating officer. The court is expected to take up the matter on the next working day, she said.
The Bombay High Court had cancelled the bail granted to the three accused on August 18, observing the seriousness of the case and the need for further legal proceedings. The trio subsequently approached the Supreme Court, which declined to interfere with the HC order.
According to the chargesheet filed in the case, the accused have been booked under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to culpable homicide not amounting to murder, acts endangering human life, negligent conduct with respect to fire and combustible matter, forgery, use of forged documents as genuine and criminal conspiracy.
The charge sheet alleged that "irresponsible acts" of the accused resulted in the deaths of 25 people in the mass-casualty incident, causing "irreparable loss" to their families.
(With PTI inputs)
