Staff Reporter
Guwahati: Another hearing was held today at the District and Sessions Judge’s Court in the death case of Zubeen Garg amid heightened legal activity involving multiple bail pleas, legal representation by senior defence counsel, and coordinated efforts by the special prosecutors’ team and state government.
All seven accused appeared in the hearing virtually through video conferencing from the respective jails they are lodged in.
Today, the special public prosecutors team also appeared in court for the first time. The five senior lawyers were appointed by the Assam government to strengthen the prosecution side. Ziaul Kamar leads the five-member team, which also includes Brojendra Mohan Choudhury, Kishor Dutta, Pranjal Dutta, and Bikash Zamar.
The court also fixed January 22 for filing objections by the prosecution on the pending bail application No. 15/26 (Amritprava Mahanta), 18/26 (Sandipon Garg), and 19/26 (Paresh Baishya). The three accused had filed pleas during the previous hearing on January 3.
Today, the counsel for the accused, Shyam Kanu Mahanta, filed petition No. 181/26, praying for bail. The Chief Legal Aid Defence Counsel also filed petition No. 182/26, requesting bail for accused Nandeswar Borah. The court also fixed January 22 as the date for filing objections to their bail pleas. According to Special Public Prosecutor Ziaul Kamar, all five accused – Shyamkanu Mahanta, Nandeshwar Bora, Amritprava Mahanta, Sandeepan Garg, and Paresh Baishya – have now filed bail applications.
The court heard the Special Public Prosecutor and the Defence Counsel on petition No. 22/26 filed by the counsel for the accused Shyam Kanu Mahanta and on petition No. 29/2026 filed by the counsel for accused Siddharth Sharma praying to allow them to appear and conduct the proceedings through video conferencing. After hearing the counsels of both sides, the prayer in respect of petition No. 22/26 and petition No. 29/26 was allowed during all stages except during the stage of trial and recording of evidence, and that, in the event of link failure, the hearing before the court shall not be suspended.
Today, the court also heard petition No. 180/26 filed by the counsel for accused Sekhar Jyoti Goswami praying for the videography of the search of the premises and seizure of property and articles, etc., which have been furnished to the accused persons. The Special Public Prosecutor prayed for time to file an objection, which the court considered and allowed for today.
The court also heard petition No. 179/26 filed by the counsel for the accused, Sekhar Jyoti Goswami, inter alia, stating that the accused person is suffering from a thyroid disorder and high cholesterol and is under medical treatment. It was submitted that the last medical test was conducted on March 26, 2025, and thereafter, no medical test was conducted. The counsel accordingly prayed for necessary directions to the jail authority to give proper treatment to the accused person. After hearing the counsels of both sides and considering the ground, the court allowed the prayer for medical treatment of accused Sekhar Jyoti Goswami. The jail authority was directed to give all necessary treatment to accused Sekhar Jyoti Goswami as and when necessary.
The case was also fixed today for hearing on consideration of charge. The Special Public Prosecutor verbally submitted that after disposing of the petition relating to the non-supply of copies to the accused persons, the prosecution will start hearing on the consideration of charge and accordingly prayed to the court to allow the same. The court fixed January 22, 2026, for objection and objection hearing on all the pending bail petitions and January 30, 2026, for production/objection and objection hearing on petition Nos. 23/26, 24/26, 25/26 and 180/26.
It is noteworthy that the counsel for accused Shyam Kanu Mahanta had filed petition No. 23/2026 under Section 230 of BNSS to supply copies of documents as mentioned in the petition. The counsel for Shyam Kanu Mahanta had filed another petition, No. 24/2026, praying for the de-freezing of the bank account of the accused, Shyam Kanu Mahanta, which was frozen during the course of the investigation. Shyam Kanu Mahanta’s counsel has filed another petition, No. 25/2026, for supplying non-relied-upon documents by the prosecution.
After the hearing, special public prosecutor Ziaul Kamar told the media, “Today an important petition was submitted on behalf of the police to attach Siddharth Sharma’s flat in Orchid View Apartment in Fatasil. Here also, the court has ordered serving of copies within three days.
“In the legal process, a legal fight takes place. The legal fight is such that the court hears both sides and then delivers justice. We’ll take the legal process forward to our utmost capacity. I’ll say one important fact: we’ll take the case forward in terms of the investigation material provided to us. We can neither add nor subtract from that. We’ll take the case forward on the strength of the materials,” Kamar added.