# Bombay HC seeks families’ reply on Rs 15 lakh compensation for Birch fire victims 2026-09-30T14:32:02+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The Bombay High Court at Goa on Wednesday (30 September 2026) recorded an offer by Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra to pay Rs 15 lakh ex-gratia compensation to each of the 25 victims of the December 2025 fire. The court has asked the victims' families to respond by October 12, when the compensation proposal will be considered again. Of the 25 killed, 20 were employees of the operating company Being G S Hospitality Arpora LLP who were in the basement kitchen when the fire broke out, and five were guest tourists, Hindustan Times reports. The Luthra brothers, along with business partner Ajay Gupta, are facing criminal proceedings including charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, forgery and criminal conspiracy. Their bail was cancelled by the Bombay High Court and the Supreme Court declined to interfere, after which they surrendered. They had fled to Thailand after the fire but were deported. The High Court's suo motu writ petition seeks to determine compensation over and above what the government has already paid, advocate general Devidas Pangam told reporters. The families' views on the Rs 15-lakh offer will be placed before the court on October 12. ## Indian Opinion Analysis Both India Today and Hindustan Times report the same core fact: the Luthra brothers have offered Rs 15 lakh per victim and the court has set an October 12 deadline for families to respond. India Today leads with the court's procedural step and emphasises the ongoing criminal investigation and charges, including a Look-Out Circular against a panchayat official, giving the story a law-and-order framing. Hindustan Times leads with the compensation offer and adds the detail that 20 of the 25 victims were employees trapped in a basement kitchen, humanising the tragedy. It also names the advocate general's statement that this compensation is 'over and above' government payments. Hindustan Times reports the club operated illegally, India Today also notes the club lacked permissions. ## Coverage Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral - indiatoday.in (neutral report) Straight procedural reporting on court hearing and criminal charges - hindustantimes.com (neutral report) Straight reporting on compensation offer with victim background details This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Tags: Birch by Romeo Lane, Bombay High Court, Gaurav Luthra, Goa, Saurabh Luthra Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/bombay-hc-seeks-families-reply-on-rs-15-lakh-compensation-for-birch-fire-victims/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/bombay-hc-seeks-families-reply-on-rs-15-lakh-compensation-for-birch-fire-victims/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/