The Bombay High Court asked the Birch by Romeo Lane owners to deposit Rs 20 lakh each as interim compensation. The order offers immediate relief to victims' families while the wider legal battle continues.
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Panaji,Oct 12, 2026 14:02 IST
The Bombay High Court on Monday directed Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, owners of the 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub, to deposit interim compensation of Rs 20 lakh each for the families of the 25 people killed in a fire at the North Goa establishment last year.
A division bench of Justices Valmiki Menezes and Amit Jamsandekar passed the direction while hearing a petition on relief for the victims of the December 2025 blaze in Arpora. The court made it clear that the deposit would be subject to the final arguments in the main matter.
Advocate Prachi Sawant, appearing for the victims' families, told the court that they had sought compensation of Rs 50 lakh each, against the Rs 25 lakh offered by the nightclub owners. "I had explained to them, but they requested that something close to Rs 50 lakh could be paid," Sawant told the court.
The bench then suggested that the owners deposit Rs 20 lakh each as interim compensation, without prejudice to their stand in the main case. "Deposit the amount in the court. Their fight continues in the main matter," the judges observed, while asking the parties to work out the arrangement before the next hearing.
Sawant also told the court that the families of four tourists who died in the blaze had filed a case before a consumer court in Haryana. She said she had not yet been able to get responses from all the victims' families on the proposed compensation.
The court asked the amicus curiae appointed in the matter to prepare a detailed list of the cases pending in connection with the incident. It also directed the parties to discuss the proposed interim compensation and inform the court of the outcome by October 21, when the matter will be heard again.
The fire broke out on December 6, 2025, at the nightclub in Arpora village in North Goa during a dance party. Twenty-five people were killed and 50 were injured. The Luthra brothers, who had fled to Thailand after the incident, were deported from that country on December 17 and are now lodged in Colvale Central Jail in North Goa.
The court's latest direction deals with interim relief for the families of those killed in the fire, while the wider legal proceedings linked to the incident are still continuing.
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