PANAJI
With families of the victims of the Birch by Romeo Lane fire seeking compensation of at least Rs 50 lakh each, the High Court of Bombay at Goa on Monday suggested that nightclub owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra deposit Rs 20 lakh each as an interim measure, without prejudice to the final determination of compensation.
Advocate Prachi Sawant, appointed under the legal aid scheme to represent the dependants of all 25 victims, told the court that only nine of the 20 families had contacted her after the brothers offered Rs 15 lakh per victim at the previous hearing.
Families seek more
“The families who responded felt the amount was inadequate... I had explained the proposal to them, and they said something close to Rs 50 lakh should be given to them,” she told the Division Bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar on Monday.
The Bench clarified that the proposed deposit would not determine the final compensation and would allow the legal proceedings to continue. “Just talk to them (victims’ families)... we would say let them (Luthra brothers) deposit Rs 20 lakh each. We don’t know what the (final) compensation would be, and then interest will keep running,” the Bench said.
When Sawant said the families were unable to clearly articulate their demands and that she would explain the offer to them again, the Bench reiterated that the deposit would be an interim arrangement.
Cases pending
She also informed the court that a family that lost four members in the fire at Birch by Romeo Lane had filed a consumer complaint before the Haryana Consumer Commission.
The Bench directed Sawant to submit a chart by next Wednesday listing all pending cases and their status for the court record. It also asked her to ascertain the families’ response to the proposed interim deposit of Rs 20 lakh each. The Bench further sought a medical examination of one of the two brothers.
Earlier offer
The brothers had earlier paid Rs 2 lakh each to the victims’ families. At the September 30 hearing, the court recorded their subsequent offer of Rs 15 lakh per victim, inclusive of the Rs 2 lakh already paid. The Bench had clarified that the offer did not absolve any party of responsibility and might not be sufficient.
The fire at the nightclub on December 6, 2025, claimed 25 lives, including 21 Birch employees.
