Demolition order of Birch stayed till next hearing

Panaji: The district court stayed, until the next hearing, the demolition order of Birch by Romeo Lane, giving it relief until Feb 23.

Vijay Lakshmi, the wife of Surinder Kumar Khosla, an OCI holder based in the UK and appointed as his guardian ad interim, challenged the demolition notice-cum-order of April 2024.


She submitted that the interim stay, which subsisted throughout the pendency of the appeal, ought to continue until its conclusion. Her advocate stated that the panchayat did not follow procedure in the demolition matters.

The directorate of panchayat earlier this month dismissed Khosla’s petition challenging the Arpora-Nagoa panchayat’s order to demolish the structure of the nightclub Birch by Romeo Lane, where 25 persons died in a fire on December 6, 2025. It directed the Arpora-Nagoa panchayat to demolish the structure.

“The order-cum-demolition notice dated April 20, 2024, issued by the panchayat hereby stands upheld. The direction given by my predecessor to maintain status quo. The appeal accordingly stands disposed of. The panchayat is directed to take steps in accordance with law to demolish the structures,” said additional panchayat director Joao Fernandes in the recent order.

Khosla challenged the demolition order on the grounds that it was bad in law, vague, without application of mind, did not consider the reply filed, did not provide the site inspection report, ignored permissions and NOCs, including repair permissions dated March 25, 2023, trade licences, house tax receipts, and that no opportunity for a hearing was given.