Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji
Panaji, Nov 5: The Bombay High Court at Goa has directed the management of Arpora nightclub Birch by Romeo Lane to deposit an additional ex gratia compensation of Rs 20 lakh for each of the 25 victims who lost their lives in the devastating December 2025 fire tragedy.
The compensation will be paid to the families of 20 employees who died in the club's underground kitchen and five tourists who perished in the blaze. The additional amount will be over and above the Rs 2 lakh already disbursed to each victim's family on an interim basis.
A division bench comprising Justices Valmiki Menezes and Amit S Jamsandekar, on November 2, accepted the management's proposal to deposit the compensation in three instalments. Accordingly, Rs 5 lakh must be deposited by November 16, another Rs 5 lakh by December 7, and the remaining Rs 10 lakh by February 7, 2027.
The court made it clear that the ex gratia compensation would be non-refundable under any circumstances, even if the final compensation awarded by consumer forums or under the Workmen's Compensation Act is lower than the amount deposited.
During the proceedings, legal aid counsel representing the victims' families had sought compensation of at least Rs 50 lakh for each family, considering the gravity of the tragedy and the loss suffered by them.
The order was passed during suo motu proceedings initiated by the High Court following the December 2025 fire, which exposed serious regulatory violations at the nightclub. Preliminary inquiries revealed that the establishment was operating from an unauthorised structure without mandatory building permissions, town planning clearance and fire safety approvals.
The bench observed that the tragedy reflected a serious violation of the fundamental rights of the workers who lost their lives. It also emphasised that the Goa government could not evade its responsibility and that liability for the tragedy had to be shared with the nightclub's owners.
In another significant direction, the High Court instructed all village panchayats across Goa to submit affidavits detailing the building permissions, trade licences and no-objection certificates issued by them during the past five years.
The direction is aimed at examining regulatory compliance and identifying possible lapses in the functioning of establishments across the state.
The High Court has scheduled the next hearing in the matter for December 2.