The net has officially closed on the Luthra brothers—Saurabh and Gaurav—the owners of the Goa nightclub ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ where a devastating fire killed 25 people. That happened. Fleeing to Thailand hours after the blaze, sources confirm they have now been detained in that country.1
The critical legal path to bringing them back to India is looking like deportation, and Goa Police is preparing a team to leave for Thailand in the next 24-36 hours.
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The Passport Coup: Undocumented Foreigners
The key legal maneuvering that made this fast detention and likely deportation possible was the Indian government’s swift action.
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Passport Suspension: The government suspended the brothers’ passports late Wednesday.
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The Result: This means Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra are now in Thailand without valid travel documents. That happened. And then they became, essentially, undocumented foreigners, which is an offense under Thai immigration laws.
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The Quicker Route: Thailand can now exercise its sovereign right to remove them as undocumented foreigners. This is deportation, and it is the fastest way to get them back to India to face trial.2
Deportation vs. Extradition: The Legal Minutiae
While India and Thailand have an extradition treaty, going that route would take far longer. This is the difference:
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| Feature | Deportation (Likely Scenario) | Extradition (Slow Scenario) |
| Legal Basis | Immigration law of the host country (Thailand). | Mutual Extradition Treaty (India-Thailand 2013). |
| Procedure | Host country (Thailand) exercises sovereign power to remove a foreign national who violated its local laws (e.g., being undocumented). | Formal request from requesting country (India) to a Thai court. |
| Speed | Typically much quicker; a bureaucratic/administrative measure. Goa Police expects them “shortly.” | Can take months or years, requiring a judicial review of ‘double criminality’. |
| Criteria | Violation of Thai immigration laws (no passport). | India must prove ‘double criminality’—that the crime is punishable under both Indian and Thai laws. |
The main charge the Luthra brothers face—culpable homicide not amounting to murder—satisfies the treaty criteria as it carries a minimum jail term of five years.3 However, high-profile extradition attempts (like Mallya and Modi) have rumbled on for years. Deportation cuts that judicial process entirely.
The Flight and The Crime
The investigation has uncovered worrying details about the club that led to 25 deaths:
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The Escape: The Luthra brothers booked an IndiGo flight to Phuket at 1:17 am on Saturday morning—as firefighters were battling the blaze. They later sought transit anticipatory bail from a Delhi court, arguing they were not present when the fire broke, but the court refused the protection.4
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The Club: Investigators found that ‘Birch by Romeo Lane’ was built like a tinderbox, with widespread use of flammable material, a total lack of fire exits, and no fire extinguishers. The club also lacked a fire safety clearance, and the narrow entrance meant fire trucks had to park 400 meters away, complicating rescue efforts. It’s an ongoing investigation into negligence and death.5
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