The Supreme Court on Monday directed the completion of the examination of crucial witnesses in singer Zubeen Garg’s death case trial within two months, as it deferred the hearing on the bail plea of his event manager in the matter until October.
The Supreme Court noted a long list of witnesses. “The accused is an event manager. What is his motive to do away with the singer? He is only organising the events.”
“We want to see how the trial proceeds. It asked the prosecution to be diligent in prosecuting the case as it heard Shyamkanu Mahanta’s bail plea. The bench noted Assam advocate general Devajit Saikia’s submission that the trial is proceeding on a day-to-day basis and crucial witnesses are being examined in the next few weeks. He requested a court-monitored probe in the matter. The SIT charged Mahanta with murder, criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence, cheating, and criminal breach of trust under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. A special court is hearing the case.
He moved the Supreme Court after the Gauhati high court denied him bail on May 29. It posted the bail plea for hearing on October 12.
This order will put pressure on them to move ahead with the matter,” said a bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and R Mahadevan.
Mahanta, who has been named as an accused, organised the event for which Garg was in Singapore, where he allegedly drowned last year. Last year, Mahanta moved the Supreme Court to transfer the probe in the case from Assam Police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT) to a central agency.
