The High Court on Tuesday cancelled the bail granted to accused Saurabh Luthra, Gaurav Luthra and Ajay Gupta in both the Birch nightclub fire case (registered by Anjuna police) and the document forgery and cheating case (registered by Mapusa police).
The High Court in its judgments has sharply criticized the lower courts — the Mapusa Additional Sessions Court and the Mapusa Judicial Magistrate First Class — for arbitrary exercise of discretion and failure to apply their minds.
The High Court rejected the lower courts’ finding that the forgery and the fire were unrelated, observing that operating an unauthorized, hazardous venue on the basis of forged clearances materially contributed to the tragedy.
The court noted that immediately after the fire, Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra fled to Phuket, Thailand, and were returned only after issuance of Blue Corner notices, non-bailable warrants and deportation proceedings. Ajay Gupta similarly switched off his phone and fled to Delhi.
The High Court further found that the Sessions Court and the JMFC erred by conducting mini-trials at the bail stage, by treating the Health NOC as not being a “valuable security,” and by mechanically applying the parity principle while co-accused bail orders were already under challenge before the High Court. The court held that the mere filing of a charge sheet or court docket congestion cannot diminish the gravity of offences that attract punishment of up to life imprisonment.
Accordingly, the High Court set aside the bail orders and directed the accused to surrender within 14 days. The High Court has permitted all three accused to file fresh regular bail applications before the trial courts and directed that such applications be decided strictly on their own merits in light of the charge sheets on record.
