Zubeen Garg death case: Siddharth Sharma, Shyamkanu Mahanta engage Kolkata-based lawyers

Guwahati: The Gauhati Lawyers Association on January 3 said it is closely monitoring the Zubeen Garg death case and has urged the Assam government to set up a dedicated special court.

General Secretary Apurba Kumar Sharma said the association has also demanded the appointment of a team of Special Public Prosecutors, citing the massive size of the charge sheet.

Speaking to the media after court proceedings, Sharma said January 3 was fixed for the consideration of charges.

He said the court took up charge hearing and a bail petition of accused Amritprabha.

Meanwhile, in the case of accused Siddharth Sharma, a private advocate from Kolkata appeared virtually and sought more time. The counsel cited the voluminous nature of the charge sheet.

Similarly, the counsel for accused Shyamkanu Mahanta, also appearing from Kolkata, sought time after claiming that some documents were missing from the pen drive provided to the defence. The court granted time in both cases.

Advocates also appeared for other accused, including Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, Sandeepan Garg, Nandeswar Bora and Paresh Baishya. Some of them are being represented by lawyers from the District Legal Services Authority.

Bail applications were filed on their behalf. However, the government advocate and the Public Prosecutor opposed the pleas and sought time to submit written replies.

Sharma said several petitions seeking virtual appearance from Kolkata and other reliefs were also placed before the court. The prosecution opposed all such requests.

The court fixed January 17, 2026, as the next date of hearing. The accused will appear virtually from their respective jails.

Highlighting the scale of the case, Sharma said the charge sheet runs into nearly 12,000 pages. He criticised the burden on a single Public Prosecutor handling multiple courts. “It is practically impossible for one PP to examine such a huge record and effectively oppose bail and other petitions,” he said.

The Gauhati Lawyers Association is demanding the constitution of a special first-class court to hear the case on a day-to-day basis. It has also sought the deployment of at least ten Special Public Prosecutors.

“Only then can the truth come out in the true sense and justice for Zubeen Garg prevail,” Sharma said.