Goa nightclub fire: Court to pronounce order on Luthra siblings' bail plea in forgery case on April 8

A Goa court on Monday reserved its order till April 8 on the bail application filed by siblings Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, held in the nightclub fire tragedy, in a forgery case.

The Luthra brothers are owners of Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub, where a fire on December 6 last year killed 25 persons and injured several others. They had fled to Thailand after the incident, but were placed under arrest in the fire tragedy case after being deported from the South East Asian nation.

The siblings were also charged in another case related to forging of documents, including a fake no-objection certificate (NOC), to obtain permissions and an excise licence for operating the ill-fated nightclub in Arpora village of North Goa. As per police, the alleged forged NOC was purportedly issued from Candolim Primary Health Centre and was later used for regulatory clearances.


"The arguments in the matter have concluded. Judicial Magistrate First Class Jude Sequeira will pronounce the order on April 8," Advocate Parag Rao, appearing for both the accused, told reporters outside court.

While the Luthras were recently granted bail in the fire case by a sessions court in Mapusa, they continue to remain in custody because of the forgery FIR. Last week, the court had rejected their anticipatory bail plea in the forgery case.