Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, the owners of the Goa club where 25 persons died in a fire, told a Delhi court on Wednesday that they did not “flee” to Thailand but had instead gone for business reasons, Bar and Bench reported.

Their lawyers told the court that the brothers were now wary of returning to India, fearing arrest and therefore sought four weeks of transit anticipatory bail. The counsel also told the court that their clients would approach courts in Goa for further relief.

However, Additional Sessions Judge Vandana of the Rohini Courts refused to grant immediate relief and posted the matter for further hearing on Thursday, Live Law reported.

The fire had erupted around midnight on December 7 in a club named Birch by Romeo Lane, located near Baga beach, one of the most popular tourist spots in the state. Twenty staff and five tourists were killed.

Five persons, including the manager of the club, had been arrested in the matter. Saurabh Luthra and Gaurav Luthra, who live in Delhi, were also booked.

The brothers were in the national capital when the blaze erupted. However, the Goa Police said they are believed to have fled the country for Thailand hours after the fire broke out.

The Interpol has issued a Blue Corner notice against them. This makes it mandatory for any one of its 192 member countries to share their whereabouts.

During the hearing on Wednesday, the court asked the Luthras’ counsel how the plea for interim relief was maintainable if they were not within the court’s jurisdiction, Live Law reported.

In response, one of the lawyers said that his clients were “willing to give an undertaking” that they would remain in the jurisdiction of the court upon returning to India.

Another lawyer representing the brothers told the court that his clients were only licensees of the building where the club was located, and not its actual owners, Bar and Bench reported.

The Luthras’ other restaurants “have been bulldozed without notice”, their counsel further told the court.

“The authorities and even the fourth state [media] are baying for my blood,” the counsel added. “My managerial people are already in custody. The limited protection will enable me to come to India and face the law.”

On Tuesday, the North Goa district administration demolished a portion of a shack run by the Luthra brothers in the Vagator area for allegedly encroaching on the beach.