Photo Courtesy: nenow
Guwahati: The Supreme Court rejected the bail plea of Shyamkanu Mahanta on Monday, August 17. Mahanta remains in custody while facing murder charges linked to the death of Assamese singer Zubeen Garg. The court kept the matter pending and set the next hearing for October 5.
Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice R Mahadevan heard the petition, filed as SLP (Crl.) No. 11523/2026. Mahanta, who organized the North East India Festival in Singapore, was arrested in October 2025. He is one of seven suspects in the case. A fast-track court in Assam has already framed murder charges against four of them, including Mahanta. All seven defendants have pleaded not guilty.
The Assam government reported that trial proceedings began on June 8. Out of 394 listed witnesses, the court has recorded statements from 94 as of August 14. Mahanta’s counsel argued that the trial still needs to examine several key witnesses located in Singapore. The state responded that these individuals had already provided statements to the investigating officer. Authorities expect to record these testimonies within the next two to three weeks.
The legal battle follows the Gauhati High Court’s May 29 decision to deny Mahanta’s initial bail request. The prosecution has consistently opposed his release. The Special Investigation Team has submitted various electronic devices and digital materials to the trial court to support their chargesheet.
Garg died on September 19, 2025, during a yacht trip in Singapore. While the local coroner ruled the death an accidental drowning and found no evidence of foul play, the investigation in Assam led to a separate criminal case. The Supreme Court offered a stern instruction during the proceedings: "The Supreme Court orally advised the Assam government to expedite the trial process as far as possible."
Updated at 17th August 2026 at 6:00pm
During Monday's hearing, the bench scrutinized the state's murder theory. The judges openly questioned why an event manager would kill the singer, prompting Assam Advocate General Devajit Saikia to allege that Mahanta threatened suicide if Garg refused to join the Singapore trip. Saikia further claimed Mahanta pushed the singer to attend a yacht party despite medical advice that he stay away from water.
While the court maintained the October hearing date, it specifically ordered the state to finish examining key witnesses within two months. Justice Nagarathna and Justice Mahadevan insisted the prosecution maintain a day to day trial pace. The SIT has hit Mahanta with additional charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence, cheating, and criminal breach of trust. Mahanta's defense team countered that the state is leveraging public outrage to drive the case and noted that he was not present at the site of the drowning.
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