Goa Night Club Fire: Delhi Court Refuses Immediate Interim Relief To Owners Saurabh Luthra, Gaurav Luthra; Hearing Tomorrow

Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, owners of Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa which caught fire and killed atleast 25 people, have moved a Delhi Court seeking anticipatory bail.

The matter was heard today by Additional Sessions Judge Vandana of Rohini Courts.

Senior Advocate Sidharth Luthra along with Advocate Tanvir Ahmed Mir appeared for the Luthras.

Senior Advocate Abhinav Mukerji appeared for the State, along with Surjendu Sankar Das, Standing Counsel for Goa.

At the outset, Mukherji said that the bail pleas were served only in the morning and requested that the matter be fixed for Friday. He said that in the meantime, the prosecution will file a status report in the matter.

He said that the applicants were fugitives and that the pleas were not maintainable.

Luthra said that the only relief he was seeking was to come back to the country and approach the appropriate courts at Goa.

He said that while the situation is unfortunate which resulted in death of individuals, but he was concerned with “witch hunting” of the accused.

He said that Saurabh Luthra, a 40 year old individual, has history of medical ailments, including hypertension and epilepsy.

He also said that the Luthras are only licensees and not owner of the nightclub. Stating that LOCs have been opened against the Luthras, the senior counsel said, “I just want to come back and take my legal remedies. My learned friend (State counsel) surely cannot oppose my legal remedies.”

He said that once the prosecution has been served, it cannot seek time to file status report. Luthra said that while the prosecution may file its response, the court nonetheless has the power to grant interim anticipatory bail.

“Sitting in Delhi, can I be held to have intention that I knew what was happening that evening in Goa” he said.

Adding to the submissions, Mir argued that the Luthras cannot, by any stretch of imagination, be directly attributed even by vicarious liability.

He said that the nightclub has been managed by operational managers who have been taken into custody.

Mir also said that other ventures of the Luthras have been “bulldozed” by the authorities without any notice. He also submitted that the Luthras will join investigation and that the custody has to be “for and in aid of the investigation” which was not the case qua the applicants.

“My managers are already in custody. The limited protection will enable me to come back and face the law as a law abiding citizen. In cases like these, criminal mens rea is necessary and cannot be stretched to management of corporate entities just because an incident has taken place? The prosecution has to be objective. What is happening today is that the State, being the protector of everybody…. The moment you start bulldozer action without giving notice?” Mir said.

The Court questioned Mir as to how the transit anticipatory bail pleas were maintainable when Luthras were in Thailand and not in the jurisdiction of the Court.

To this, Mir said that the applicants were residents of Delhi and have their home here. He added that the Luthras had to go to Thailand for a business meeting and that they were willing to undertake that they be protected till the State files a status report and they will be within the jurisdiction of the Court.

In response, Mukherji opposed interim protection to the Luthras and said that non bailable warrants were issued against them by Courts at Goa.

However, the judge refused to pass any interim protection order for today and said that the matter will be heard tomorrow and appropriate orders will be passed.

The incident happened in Arpora on December 06. The Luthras have reportedly fled the country. As per media reports, they are believed to have fled to Thailand's Phuket hours after the incident.

The Interpol has issued a Blue Notice against the Luthras to track their whereabouts.

The deceased comprised 20 employees of the nightclub and five tourists, including four from Delhi.

Other five injured individuals are undergoing treatment at the government-run Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), as per reports.

Reportedly, the police has so far arrested five people: the nightclub's chief general manager- Rajiv Modak, general manager- Vivek Singh, bar manager- Rajiv Singhania, gate manager- Riyanshu Thakur and Bharat Kohli.

The Goa Police today brought Ajay Gupta, one of the four owners of the nightclub, to the Sunlight Colony Crime Branch office in connection with the fire tragedy.

The applicants were represented by: Senior Advocates Siddharth Luthra and Tanveer Ahmed Mir, and Advocates Shiv Chopra, Vaibhav Suri, Saud Khan, Tushan Rawal, Shivaz Berry, Pulkit Shree