The Kamrup Metropolitan District and Sessions Court also set March 19 for looking at the charges, which is a vital step before the trial.
Special Public Prosecutor Ziaul Kamar explained the court had told them to unfreeze Mahanta’s account for ‘technical reasons’. The order doesn’t look at whether the case against him is good or not, but puts right what the court thought was a problem with the procedure.
Zubeen Garg’s wife, Garima Saikia Garg, went to the hearing with the singer’s sister, and was let down. She said it was ‘bad news’ for the family, because of the procedural mistake and the technical problem.
March 19 was the date the court put down for considering the charges. At this stage, it will be decided which charges, if any, will go to trial. Kamar said the prosecution would be ready, and that this charge consideration means moving from the investigation to testing the evidence in court. He also said that although the prosecution is ready, the defence still has the right to make requests to the court.
Kamar has criticised what he’s called delaying actions before, but said legal processes must be the same for both sides.
The court would not allow a request from accused Siddharth Sharma to get a copy of the Singapore Police report about Garg’s death. Kamar said the court decided that Assam Police had already got the details that were needed.
However, the accused will be able to look at these materials in Guwahati, from 2pm to 4pm on March 10 to 12. This is a usual step to make sure the defence can check the evidence before the charge consideration.
Regarding Sharma’s request to stop the freezing of his Guwahati flat, the court said the property could be used again if he gave the police a bank guarantee of Rs 16 lakh. Investigators have said the same amount had been taken dishonestly from the singer and used to buy the flat.
A separate case involving Mahabir Aqua – a packaged drinking water company which Sharma jointly owns – is also going to be before the same court on March 19. This case is separate from the main one, but is about what are claimed to be problems with the company’s finances.
Garima Saikia Garg said she hoped the promised fast-track court would speed the case up, but she didn’t know what was happening with that plan. Kamar said setting up such a court was a matter for the government and the Gauhati High Court.
He said a fast-track court would probably make things move faster, but legal protections could not be reduced.
Both prosecution and defence could still make requests as the case goes on. Zubeen Garg – a very popular Indian singer and composer – died on September 19 last year, while swimming off Lazarus Island in Singapore. He was in the country to attend the fourth North East India Festival. A Coroner’s Court in Singapore said he had drowned while very drunk and found no evidence of a crime.
Back in Assam, a Special Investigation Team from the Criminal Investigation Department looked into what had happened around his death. The SIT made a charge-sheet in December, including murder charges against some of the accused. That started the current pre-trial steps.
As well as NEIF chief organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta and manager Siddharth Sharma, the accused are Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amrit Prabha Mahanta – members of Garg’s band – Garg’s cousin Sandipan Garg, who is a police officer who has been suspended, and personal security officers Nandeswar Bora and Prabin Baishya. Several are still being held while the case moves to the charge consideration hearing.
The court’s order to unfreeze the account does not stop further checking of the finances, and doesn’t mean any side is going to win.
It shows the court is paying attention to the process, while the real questions will be answered at the March 19 hearing. The unfreezing of Mahanta’s account because of ‘a technical mistake’ shows how complicated the financial steps taken during investigations can be. Such orders often depend on exactly following the rules. If the rules aren’t met, courts can reverse steps already taken without judging what the claims are about.
By refusing to give the Singapore Police report directly, but instead letting the defence look at the Assam Police records, the court has tried to balance openness with control over important documents. This lets the defence get ready, while keeping the chain of evidence safe.
All eyes will be on March 19, when the court looks at the charges and decides the road to trial. For the prosecution, the date marks the end of months of investigation by the CID’s SIT. For the defence, it is a chance to question the charges and test the quality of the case file.
For Garg’s family and his fans, the developments offer a measured, but real, sign of progress. Although some steps already taken may not be what people wanted, the case is now on a clear timescale, and the court has said it is ready to go on using established legal rules.
As the case goes on, the balance between careful legal process and quick justice will remain important. The court’s recent directions – from financial protections to controlled access to records – show this double commitment.
