Panaji: A public interest litigation (PIL) filed for seeking probe into the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub fire will be heard by the High Court of Bombay at Goa on December 16. The petition calls for the constitution of a Judicial Commission headed by a retired High Court judge to investigate administrative negligence and crowd-management failures. It cites reports that the nightclub had been operating without a valid construction licence, and despite multiple demolition orders. P 2
The petition states, “This shows a shocking failure of municipal, panchayat and district authorities to enforce even the most basic statutory requirements intended to protect public life.”
It seeks a court-monitored special investigation team probe into the club fire and also an investigation into alleged illegal construction, licensing lapses and dereliction of duty by authorities and demands a statewide action to curb such illegalities.
According to the petition, filed by social activist Aishwarya Salgaonkar,
fire brigades had to halt nearly 400 metres away because of a narrow single lane approach road which was in violation of National Building Code norms that mandate a six-metre wide approach for emergency vehicles. Thus, flouting the norm effectively made fire service access impossible.
The petition also draws parallels to an earlier tragedy on May 3, 2025, when a stampede during the annual Lairai jatra at Shree Lairai Devi temple in Shirgao killed seven people and injured around 80. This was allegedly after poorly tied rope barricades collapsed on a sloping pathway crowded with 30,000–40,000 devotees in darkness amid inadequate police deployment and lack of alternative routes.
According to the petitioner, both incidents expose a disturbing pattern of illegal constructions, disregard for the National Building Code, absence of fire safety audits, poor police preparedness and violations of the Disaster Management Act, 2005, and National Disaster Management Authority guidelines on mass gatherings. Hence, unless the High Court intervenes, illegal commercial establishments and unregulated mass gatherings will continue to claim innocent lives in Goa, it was submitted.
