The legal battle surrounding the tragic and highly controversial death of iconic Assamese singer Zubeen Garg has reached the steps of the Gauhati High Court. A single-judge bench headed by Justice Mitali Thakuria has initiated formal hearings into the bail application filed by Shyamkanu Mahanta, the chief organizer of the North East India Festival (NEIF). Mahanta, who has been in judicial custody for several months, is seeking relief after a lower fast-track court previously denied him bail, citing concerns over his post-incident conduct and potential flight risk.
During the latest courtroom proceedings, the high court focused heavily on fresh submissions and supporting documents. The bench had previously directed both the defense counsel and the state prosecution to file additional affidavits to clarify specific disputed timelines and administrative facts. Senior advocate Pran Bora, representing Mahanta, pushed strongly for his release, presenting new legal arguments to counter the severe criminal charges levied against his client. The defense maintains that Mahanta has been subjected to an unfair narrative despite cooperating with local investigators.
The state government, however, continues to maintain an exceptionally firm stance against granting any immediate relief to the accused. Represented by Advocate General Devajit Lon Saikia, the prosecution requested additional time from the bench to properly formulate and place its counter-arguments in response to the newly submitted affidavits. Recognizing the complexity and massive public interest surrounding the case, the Gauhati High Court chose to defer the matter briefly, scheduling the next critical hearing to allow the government to present its detailed objections.
This high-profile case stems from the shocking death of the 52-year-old singer-songwriter on September 19 last year. Garg passed away during a swimming incident near Lazarus Island in Singapore, where he had traveled to headline the fourth edition of the North East India Festival. Following immense public mourning and outrage across Assam, the state government bypassed initial assumptions of an accident, with Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma openly labeling the incident in the State Assembly as a premeditated crime, which immediately amplified political and legal scrutiny.
The structural backbone of the prosecution's case relies on a comprehensive investigation conducted by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the Assam Police CID. The SIT submitted a detailed chargesheet in December, naming seven individuals as accused, including Mahanta, Garg’s manager Siddharth Sharma, and certain band members. Strikingly, the state police invoked murder charges against four of the seven accused, alleging that certain individuals deliberately compromised the vulnerable singer’s safety and health requirements while on foreign soil.
A major point of contention in the ongoing bail hearings is the stark discrepancy between local police findings and international reports. An independent investigation conducted by the Singapore Police Force, alongside subsequent findings from a Singapore Coroner’s Court, concluded that there was no evidence of foul play. The foreign medical and investigative reports indicated that the singer was severely intoxicated and accidentally drowned after declining a life jacket. Despite these findings, Assam authorities have repeatedly emphasized that the state’s independent probe will rely strictly on domestic evidentiary collection.
The rejection of Mahanta's previous bail application by a special fast-track court highlighted serious concerns regarding his actions immediately following the tragedy. Public prosecutors successfully argued that instead of assisting local management or staying to manage the immediate aftermath of Garg's death, Mahanta left Singapore for Malaysia, necessitating the issuance of a formal lookout notice to secure his return. The defense is now tasked with convincing the High Court that these travel movements were not a flight attempt, even as the state continues to push for prolonged judicial custody.