A Delhi court on Thursday rejected the transit anticipatory bail pleas of Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, owners of the Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub in Goa where a massive fire last week killed 25 people.

The accused had sought four weeks of protection to avoid immediate arrest upon their return to Delhi from Thailand.

Additional sessions Judge Vandana dismissed the bail plea and a detailed order is awaited.

During the proceedings, counsel for the state of Goa opposed the applications and said, “They left, they concealed, and they are now seeking leniency.”

He argued that the Luthra brothers had left Goa immediately after the incident and had been “evading the legal process”.

He submitted that the law does not aid those who refuse to submit to summons or warrants. Referring to judicial observations, he said, “Once it is shown that a person is attempting to evade the process of law, the court should not come to his aid at all.”

He added that anticipatory bail is a discretionary relief and cannot be granted to those who have “created obstacles in the execution of warrants or concealed themselves”.

The counsel said serious allegations were pending, including non bailable warrants, and argued that “the gravity of the offence and the conduct of the applicants disentitle them from any protection”.

Seeking relief, one of the counsels for the Luthras said they were willing to return immediately and face the investigation and urged the court not to “punish them at the threshold”.

He said the brothers had approached the Delhi court at the earliest opportunity and undertook to join the probe without delay.

“If I land in India tonight and the investigating officer tells me to appear at midnight, I will be there,” he said.

He added that transit bail was not a determination on merits but a limited protection to ensure safe access to the right court.

Citing a Supreme Court order, he said it had permitted an accused abroad, against whom Blue and Red Corner notices were contemplated, to return to India with temporary protection.

“I only seek protection for a few days to reach the court safely. When a citizen is willing to submit to the law, the Court must extend a helping hand, not a fist,” he said.

Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant said the Luthra brothers will be brought back to India at the earliest.

He said a team of Goa Police and the CBI would bring them back “as soon as possible”. A local panchayat official will also be arrested for not cooperating with the probe.

The chief minister thanked the Union home ministry and the Ministry of External Affairs for expediting efforts to trace the accused.

He said a request had been made to cancel the Luthras’ passports with the Regional Passport Office. Three government officials were suspended for alleged dereliction of duty.

Two of them were cooperating with the investigation while panchayat secretary Raghuvir Bagkar was not and would be arrested.

The Luthra brothers face allegations of injury causing death, manslaughter and murder by organising a fire show “without taking proper care and caution and without providing fire safety equipment, other safety gadgets”.

The flames that tore through the Goa nightclub have left families devastated. Among the 25 victims were Vinod Kumar aged 43 and sisters Kamla Joshi aged 42, Anita Joshi aged 41 and Saroj Joshi aged 39.

Bhavna Joshi, who survived with injuries, lost her husband and three sisters. Sitting in her home in Karawal Nagar, she recalled, “We were enjoying ourselves. Everything was normal. Suddenly, there was fire.”

She said it grew “huge and uncontrollable” within seconds. “My husband and my sisters were trapped in it. I saw everything,” she said.

She has been receiving calls from the Goa collector’s office. “They keep asking for bank details. They say they will give us two lakh rupees,” she said.

“Are we beggars? Will two lakh rupees bring back my family? Will it return my sisters? Have some shame. I do not want any compensation. I just want justice,” she added.

In another room sat her mother Meena who lost three daughters and now watched her fourth grieve for her husband.

“I lost my children. What do you expect from a mother who lost four children at this age?” she asked. “I lost everything in that fire. The culprits must not get away with bail or just a fine. They must face the consequences. I only want justice,” she said.

Naveen, Kamla’s husband and elder brother of Vinod, said that if Bhavna had not survived the family would not have known what happened.

He alleged negligence by authorities and said action must be taken to prevent such incidents in the future. “Today, it happened to us. Tomorrow, it may be someone else,” he said.

The fire broke out in the early hours of 6 December in Arpora and killed 20 staff members and five tourists.

On Thursday, a court in Goa sent Ajay Gupta, who claimed to be a silent partner and investor in the nightclub, to seven days of police custody.

Gupta was brought from Delhi on Wednesday on a transit remand and taken to the Anjuna police station for further investigation.

A Look Out circular had earlier been issued against him. Five managers and staff members have already been arrested.

Brothers and co-owners Saurabh and Gaurav Luthra, who left for Phuket shortly after the fire, have been detained in Thailand following an Interpol Blue Corner notice.