Zubeen Garg Death Case: Supreme Court To Hear Event Organizers' Bail Plea

The Supreme Court today issued notice on a bail plea filed by event organiser Shyam Kanu Mahanta, an accused in the murder and cheating case connected with the death of Assamese singer Zubeen Garg during a yacht trip in Singapore in September 2025.

A bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notice to the State of Assam, returnable at the end of July.

Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Mahanta submitted that there was no risk of the petitioner absconding. “Person dies of drowning. There is no flight risk, I don't have money, my passport is deposited,” he said.

Mahanta has challenged a May 29 order of the Gauhati High Court rejecting Mahanta's application for bail. Mahanta was arrested on October 1, 2025 and has remained in custody since then. The chargesheet alleges offences under Sections 3(6), 3(7), 3(8), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), 103(1) (murder), 105 (culpable homicide not amounting murder), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence), 308(2) (extortion), 318(4) (cheating) and 316(5) (criminal breach of trust) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

In October 2025, following a dramatic turn after the untimely demise of the renowned singer, the event organizer of the festival scheduled had approached the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution, seeking urgent intervention to protect his life, liberty, and legal rights.

The petitioner, identified as a 53-year-old entrepreneur and cultural promoter from Guwahati, Assam, claimed he had been subjected to a large-scale “witch-hunt” fueled by irresponsible reporting in both mainstream and social media.

According to the petition, filed through AoR Raj Kamal these platforms created a false narrative implicating him in the singer’s death, despite his presence in Singapore being limited to organizing the festival and having last met the deceased two days prior to the incident.

The petition detailed that following the incident, the petitioner faced an unprecedented wave of harassment, including over 54 First Information Reports (FIRs) registered in Assam and neighboring Northeastern states, multiple raids on his residence in Guwahati, freezing of bank accounts, and threats to his life conveyed through social media messages and emails with menacing language such as “Come home and we will burn you alive” and “If you step foot in Assam, we will murder you.”

The State of Assam registered CID PS Case No. 18 of 2025 under Sections 61(2), 105, and 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the matter. However, the petitioner maintained that the SIT investigation was prejudiced due to continuous public vilification and statements made by top state executives on social media. He highlighted that the All Assam Lawyers’ Association has publicly discouraged members from representing accused persons in this case, further jeopardizing his right to legal representation and fair trial under Articles 21 and 22(1) of the Constitution.

Mahanta had then sought multiple directions from the Court, including transfer of the investigation to a central agency such as the CBI or NIA, preservation of post-mortem reports, medical records, and video footage from Singapore, as well as restraint against the registration of further FIRs concerning the same subject matter, citing the principle laid down in Priyanshi Kandpal v. Union of India (2023) and Mohammed Zubair v. State of NCT of Delhi (2022).

Case Title: Shyam Kanu Mahanta v. State of Assam

Bench: Justices Nagarathna and Bagchi

Hearing Date: June 23, 2026