The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought response from the State on a bail plea filed by Northeast Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, an accused in the drowning death case of renowned Assam-based singer Zubeen Garg.
Mahanta, organiser of the Northeast Festival since 2013, submitted that he had been falsely implicated following Zubeen Garg’s death while swimming in the sea in Singapore on September 19, 2025. He said that he was holidaying with family and friends on a yacht at the time of the incident.
Mahanta has been in custody for nearly 9 months in connection with the case.
A Bench of Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notice on the plea.
The Court directed the matter to be posted for hearing at the end of July 2026, after the State accepted notice.
During the hearing, the Bench queried whether there was any flight risk if Mahanta were to be released on bail.
Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Mahanta, submitted that there was none and informed the Court that his passport had already been deposited.
The case stems from the death of singer Zubeen Garg, who drowned under alleged mysterious circumstances while swimming in Singaporean seas. Following the incident, multiple first information reports (FIRs) were registered alleging offences including criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide not amounting to murder against Mahanta and others.
Mahanta has also separately approached the Supreme Court seeking transfer of the investigation to an independent agency and consolidation of FIRs, alleging that he has been falsely implicated and subjected to a coordinated criminal process across several states. He had claimed that over 50 FIRs have been filed against him and that public statements by authorities, media coverage and threats against him have prejudiced the investigation.
According to the plea, the incident occurred in Singapore, where authorities concluded that the death was due to drowning with no evidence of foul play. However, questions raised subsequently led to the registration of cases in India and the arrest of multiple individuals, including Mahanta.
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