PANAJI
The Luthra brothers -- Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra -- and their business partner Ajay Gupta have approached the Supreme Court challenging the order of the High Court of Bombay at Goa cancelling their bail in the Birch nightclub fire case registered by Anjuna Police, and the forgery and cheating case registered by Mapusa Police.
The three accused have filed Special Leave Petitions (SLPs) challenging the High Court’s August 18 order, which had set aside the bail granted to them by the Sessions Court and directed them to surrender within two days.
The High Court, while cancelling the bail, had observed that the Sessions Court’s order did not deal with the “enormity of the offence” while granting relief to the accused.
The High Court also held that the material on record indicated that the accused and their partners were aware that combustible material had been used to cover the restaurant roof, yet continued to operate the premises and permitted the use of cold pyro fireworks.
The High Court further noted that the Sessions Court had imposed no condition requiring the accused to periodically attend before the investigating officer. It also pointed out that they had not been directed to obtain prior permission before travelling within India.
