Northeast Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta has moved the Supreme Court seeking protection, CBI probe, and clubbing of over 54 FIRs after Zubeen Garg’s death in Singapore. He alleges a witch-hunt, biased investigation, and trial by media.
New Delhi: Northeast Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta has moved the Supreme Court of India asking for protection from arrest after several first information reports (FIRs) were registered against him in connection with the death of popular singer Zubeen Garg in Singapore.
Mahanta, who has been running the Northeast Festival since 2013, said that he has been wrongly accused following Garg’s sudden death on 19 September 2025. The singer had gone on a holiday with his family and friends on a yacht in Singapore.
He pointed out that Garg was scheduled to perform at his festival on 20 September 2025, but the unfortunate incident had no connection to the event.
He added that authorities in Singapore who investigated the matter have already confirmed there was no foul play involved.
According to his plea before the Supreme Court, more than 54 FIRs have been filed against him across Assam and other states.
These cases accuse him of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide, only because he was the organiser of the festival where Garg was to perform.
The petition also highlights that at the time of the mishap, Mahanta was present at the event venue with dignitaries such as the Chief Minister of Meghalaya and Indian High Commission officials. He said that he only came to know about the tragedy when he got a call from Garg’s manager.
Mahanta has further alleged that the criminal justice system is being misused and that public anger has been turned into a witch-hunt against him. He stated that the Assam government set up a nine-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) to look into his role.
He also pointed out that top government executives, including the Chief Minister, have made public comments saying that no festivals linked to him would be allowed in Assam. His plea argues that such remarks have prejudiced the investigation and made it impossible for him to get a fair probe.
The petition also mentions the role of the media. It says that he has been subjected to a kind of trial by media through TV debates, hashtags like #JusticeForZubeen, and morphed videos portraying him as guilty.
Mahanta also flagged that the All Assam Lawyers’ Association had passed a resolution asking its members not to represent him in court. He argues that this move
“strikes at the foundation of the right to legal representation.”
He further stated that he has been receiving direct threats, including messages warning him that
“he would be killed if he returned to Assam.”
Instead of giving him protection, Mahanta claims that the Assam CID has issued a Look-Out Circular against him, which has effectively stopped him from going back to his home state.
Calling the allegations “baseless,” Mahanta has urged the Supreme Court to club all FIRs together and transfer the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the National Investigation Agency (NIA) under the monitoring of a retired Supreme Court judge.
He has also asked for protection from arrest, suspension of the Look-Out Circular, and directions to media outlets to avoid unverified reporting until the probe is complete.
However, reports suggest that Mahanta was arrested shortly after filing this petition. His legal team has said that the plea will be updated to reflect this development.
According to official records, Garg was in Singapore for his scheduled performance at the Northeast India Festival when he faced a medical emergency while swimming in the sea.
The Singapore authorities issued a death certificate stating that the cause was drowning. An autopsy report shared with Indian authorities confirmed that it was a swimming accident with no evidence of foul play.
But the singer’s wife, Garima Garg, raised questions about certain details of the incident. She asked why Zubeen went into the water without a life jacket despite feeling unwell earlier. These doubts fueled further speculation and led to an investigation by the Assam Police.
Following this, Garg’s manager Siddhartha Sharma, festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, and two of his band members, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprabha Mahanta, were arrested on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, criminal conspiracy, and negligence.
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