Supreme Court Upholds Cancellation of Bail for Three Accused in Goa Nightclub Fire

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed petitions challenging the Bombay High Court's decision to cancel the bail granted to three individuals accused in the December 2025 fire at a Goa nightclub that resulted in 25 deaths. A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu ordered the accused — nightclub owners Saurav Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, along with business partner Ajay Gupta — to surrender within two weeks. The court also instructed the lower court to expedite the trial.

The fire broke out on December 6, 2025, at the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Arpora, killing 25 people and injuring 50 others. The three accused were partners in M/s Being GS Hospitality Arpora LLP, which operated the establishment. They had been granted bail by a trial court in April this year.

On August 18, the Bombay High Court set aside that bail, observing that the trial court had failed to properly consider the material collected during the investigation and had erred in stating that the offence was not as heinous as murder or dacoity. The High Court noted that the material on record indicated the restaurant was operating without licences, its structure was unauthorised, and the accused allegedly knew the risks of conducting fire displays inside the facility without adequate safety measures.

The Goa government had challenged the trial court's bail order before the High Court, which then directed the trio to surrender. The Supreme Court's dismissal of the pleas against that order means the accused must now comply with the surrender directive.