PANAJI
The owners of Birch by Romeo Lane, Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, have offered Rs 15 lakh as ex gratia compensation to the dependants of each of the 25 victims of the December 6, 2025 nightclub fire.
The Luthras, in judicial custody at Colvale Correctional Home, told the High Court of Bombay at Goa on Wednesday that they would need four to six months to make the payments, possibly in stages, as their assets had been attached.
The Division Bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar, hearing the suo motu PIL, recorded the offer but said it would not settle the compensation issue.
“We will record the offer... This by itself does not absolve any party of its responsibilities. We would also like to have some materials before us in chart form, as the matter is before the Labour Commissioner,” the Bench observed, directing that the process be expedited.
The Luthras’ lawyers said the proposed Rs 15 lakh per victim would include Rs 2 lakh ex gratia already paid to 20 Birch employees whose claims are pending before the Labour Commissioner under the Workmen’s Compensation Act.
The court asked Advocate Prachi Sawant, appointed under the legal aid scheme to represent the dependants of all 25 victims, to obtain their instructions on the proposal.
The Bench indicated it was “definitely not agreeable” to the offer and noted that the respondents themselves were aware that the compensation could be higher. The matter was adjourned to October 12.
The court had earlier noted that the only compensation received by the victims’ families so far was government ex gratia assistance. “Speed up the process. As of now, the only compensation paid is the ex gratia by the government,” it said on Tuesday.
At the previous hearing, the Luthra brothers had proposed a common compensation scheme for the victims’ families. The High Court accepted the proposal and sought its details.
