Goa Nightclub Fire: Owners Fled To Thailand, CBI Roped In, But What Are The Extradition Rules?

Arpora: Hours after the deadly fire ripped through Birch nightclub in Goa's Arpora, killing at least 25 people and leaving multiple more fighting for their lives, the two owners of the club, Gaurav and Saurabh Luthra, fled to Thailand. According to reports, the Luthra brothers were already on a 5.30 am flight to Phuket on Sunday morning, leaving the multi‑state manhunt by the Goa police yielding zero results. The Goa police have now roped in the Central Bureau of Investigation  (CBI) to extradite them from Thailand. 

Notably, at around midnight, the nightclub erupted in flames, leading to a deadly disaster that claimed the lives of at least 25 people. While emergency teams battled the fire and initiated the rescue process, the Luthra brothers slipped out of the country, boarding an IndiGo flight (6E 1073) to Thailand just a few hours later. The Goa police arrived at their Delhi residence only to find the house empty, prompting a legal notice and a Look‑Out Circular (LoC) that came too late to stop the escape .

Meanwhile, the CBI entered the picture following the Goa police roping in the central agency as the suspects, the Luthra brothers fled abroad, crossing state lines and prompting the involvement of the central investigative agency. The CBI’s Interpol division has now been asked to coordinate with Thai authorities for the handing over of the suspects. As per the experts, it is a standard step when a fugitive is spotted in a country that has an extradition treaty with India .

India And Thailand Extradition Rule To Exchange Fugitives

As the question arises on how the two owners of the Birch nightclub would be brought to justice, given that they have fled the country to Thailand, the experts suggest options on how the extradition may work as per the extradition treaty signed between India and Thailand.

Pertinently, India and Thailand are bound by a formal extradition treaty signed in 2013 and brought into force in 2015. The agreement creates a strong legal framework for handing over suspects, even when they are citizens of the requested country, for serious offences such as terrorism, money‑laundering and other major crimes. The treaty replaces older arrangements and allows requests for any offence punishable by at least one year’s imprisonment, including attempts and aiding the crime.

As per the legal experts, the key principle to meet the extradition rule is the dual criminality, which means the conduct must be a crime in both India and Thailand. In the present case, since the alleged offences, which include culpable homicide, causing death by negligence and violations of disaster‑management law, are punishable under Thai law, the dual‑criminality test is satisfied.

The treaty also permits the extradition of nationals, a point that has been used in past cases involving Indian fugitives in Thailand and Thai suspects in India.

India-Thailand Extradition Treaty’s Impact On The Luthra Brothers

The legal experts asserted that under the present extradition treaty, Thailand is obliged to surrender the brothers once India submits a formal extradition request. The process begins with the investigative agency, which is the CBI in the present case, preparing a comprehensive dossier, including the arrest warrant, evidence linking the brothers to the fire, and an assurance that they will receive a fair trial without the death penalty.

The request travels through diplomatic channels to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which forwards it to the Thai courts. The Thai judges will review the paperwork to ensure it meets the treaty’s requirements, including dual criminality and the presence of sufficient evidence.

Further, if the court approves, the final surrender order would be issued by the Thai central government and the entire procedure can take weeks or months, especially if the defence challenges any procedural point.

LoC Timing May Hamper Extradition Process: Experts

The Goa police have registered an FIR against the Luthra brothers under relevant sections, which also includes the Disaster Management Act (DMA). Following the registration of the FIR, the Bureau of Immigration issued a Look‑Out Circular (LoC) on the evening of December 7, hours after the fire incident and the suspect brothers left the country, and the CBI’s Interpol division has been asked to assist Thai authorities. A senior police officer said the central agency is compiling a charge sheet that will accompany the extradition request.

As per the experts, if Thailand accepts India’s request, the Luthra brothers could be arrested in Phuket and transferred to Indian custody within a matter of weeks. However, the legal experts have cautioned that the defence may argue procedural lapses, and the biggest question that appears to be looming over the extradition process is whether the LoC was correctly issued before the flight departed, which may delay the case.