Panaji, March 24 A Goa court has granted bail to Ajay Gupta, one of the owners of the 'Birch by Romeo Lane' nightclub in the state, where a devastating fire killed 25 people in December last year, his lawyer said.
Gupta was arrested in New Delhi more than three months ago.
The district court in Mapusa, North Goa, granted him bail on Monday.
Lawyer Rohan Desai, representing the accused, told the court during arguments that there was no evidence against Gupta in the chargesheet filed by the police in the case.
The extensive chargesheet does not specify any role of Gupta in the tragedy, he said, adding that allegations of forging documents leveled against his client were also unfounded.
The judge released Gupta on a bond of Rs 50,000 and imposed several conditions, including that he shall not leave the country without the court's permission and surrender his passport to it, Desai said.
The court also asked Gupta not to tamper with evidence while on bail, he added.
Twenty-five people – 20 staff members and five tourists – were killed in the major blaze at the nightclub in Arpora village in North Goa around midnight on December 6 last year. After the tragedy, police arrested 13 people, including the nightclub's owners.
On February 27, police filed a 4,150-page chargesheet in connection with the fire against 13 accused, including the owners, Saurabh Luthra, Gaurav Luthra, and Gupta. Statements of more than 300 witnesses were recorded by the police.