Mapusa: The Additional Sessions Court of North Goa, situated in Mapusa, presided over a hearing on Tuesday regarding a regular bail application filed by Rajib Kumar Modak (alias Rajiv Nimai Chandra Modak). Modak, the Corporate/Chief General Manager of the Romeo Lane brand, is currently involved in legal proceedings pertaining to Crime No. 154/2025, investigated by the Anjuna Police Station.
The applicant, presently incarcerated at the Modern Central Jail in Colvale, sought judicial intervention for his release under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023. The case involves charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, including Section 105 (Culpable Homicide Not Amounting to Murder), Sections 125, 125(a), and 125(b) concerning endangerment of personal safety, and Section 287 related to negligent conduct involving machinery.
In the plea, the defense stated that Modak is a permanent resident of Delhi and was officially assigned to the Romeo Lane franchise in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The application asserts that he had no operational, administrative, or decision-making authority in the Goa establishment, and that his presence in the state was a brief visit beginning fourteen days prior to the incident.
The bail application detailed the organizational hierarchy to show a clear division of responsibilities. It contends that, despite his title as CGM, Modak operated under the supervision of the Operation Head, Manish Bachas, and the Associate Vice President (Service), Akhil Gakhar, who managed routine business operations and event management.
The plea further clarified that kitchen management was overseen solely by Corporate Executive Chef Gazal Khan and Associate Vice President (Kitchen) Varun Mathur, while Human Resources, including recruitment and payroll, was managed centrally from corporate headquarters in Delhi under Meghana.
Regarding local leadership, the application noted that General Manager Vivek Singh was on sanctioned matrimonial leave from 25th November to 10th December 2025. The defense stated that he held no principal authority during the critical period of the alleged offense.
A key aspect of the defense relied on biometric attendance systems and duty registers, currently in the custody of the Investigating Agency, which record employee presence and assigned duties. These logs are presented as potentially exonerating the applicant from direct involvement.
The plea highlighted that Operational Manager Bijay Kumar Singh was the sole custodian of the establishment’s daily operations, reporting directly to the AVP (Service). The defense contends that implications against Modak and the General Manager arose due to Singh’s abscondence, characterizing their detention as a false implication.
The application also challenged procedural integrity, asserting that Modak’s arrest was arbitrary and illegal, violating Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India. The defense stated that the arrest process was mechanical and did not account for differing professional roles or levels of culpability among the accused.
Finally, the application noted that on the night of 6th December 2025, the General Manager was not on duty and arrived at the premises only upon receiving a distress communication, after which he was apprehended.
After considering the submissions, the Additional Sessions Judge issued a formal notice to the respondents and directed the Investigating Officer to submit a comprehensive reply. The matter is scheduled for further deliberation on 5th January 2026.
