The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Wednesday dismissed a writ petition linked to the devastat ing blaze at ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ in Arpora that claimed 25 lives, holding that the plea was a private civil dis pute dressed up as a constitutional challenge. A division bench came down strong ly on the petition filed by Pradip Gha di Amonkar and another individual, ruling that the issues raised stemmed from a 2004 agreement between the petitioners and the resort oper ator and were already the subject of pending civil suits. The court held that such disputes cannot be agitat ed under Article 226 of the Consti tution and are not amenable to writ jurisdiction. In a strong observation, the court noted suppression of material facts and said the petitioners had ap proached it with “unclean hands” — a finding that proved fatal to their plea. The bench also made it clear that wider questions sur rounding illegal constructions, licensing and regulatory compliance arising from the tragedy are already under scrutiny in the court’s ongoing suo motu Public Interest Litigation (PIL). In that backdrop, it found no justification to entertain a parallel petition on overlapping issues. The dismissal marks a significant turn in the legal after math of the fire that shook the state and triggered intense public scrutiny over building safety and regulatory en forcement in the hospitality sector. Meanwhile, proceedings in the anticipatory bail matter of the Birch nightclub’s Luthra brothers were adjourned to March 9. Their counsel, Advocate Parag Rao, said no deci sion has yet been taken on whether to move the High Court against the February 12 order of the Sessions Court reject ing their bail plea. “We argued for anticipatory bail, but the Public Prosecu tor (PP) has filed an appeal stating that the offences were committed prior to the coming into force of the BNS, and they want to invoke sections under the IPC. The PP also stated that they intend to file a supplementary reply. The matter is now fixed for arguments on March 9,” Rao said. In another development, the Additional Sessions Court at Mapusa extended the stay on demolition of the ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ structure at Arpora. The matter has been posted for further hearing on March 13, 2026. Advocate Se bastian Vales, appearing for property owner Surinder Kho sla, said the local Village Panchayat opposed the extension before the court.
ARPORA FIRE TRAGEDY; HC raps petitioners, dismisses plea
