# SC sets two-month deadline for Zubeen Garg death trial witnesses 2026-08-17T08:25:03+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 2 independent outlets The Supreme Court on Monday directed that examination of crucial witnesses in the trial of singer Zubeen Garg's death be completed within two months, and deferred the bail plea of event manager Shyamkanu Mahanta to October 5. A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan said it wanted to see how the trial proceeds, adding that the order would put pressure on the state to move ahead. The Assam government told the court that the trial is on a day-to-day basis and key witnesses in Singapore will record statements in the next fortnight. Hindustan Times and The Assam Tribune both reported the development. Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Mahanta, argued that his client was not present at the spot and that Garg voluntarily entered the sea. He noted only 94 of 394 witnesses have been examined, and questioned the motive, saying Mahanta is an event manager with no reason to harm the singer. Justice Nagarathna also asked what motive Mahanta had to eliminate Garg. The Assam advocate general, Devajit Saikia, however, alleged a conspiracy, saying Mahanta threatened suicide if Garg refused to go to Singapore, supplied him liquor, and allowed him to attend a yacht party despite medical advice. Garg, an iconic singer from Assam, died in Singapore last year. The SIT has charged Mahanta with murder and criminal conspiracy under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Garg's sister, Pami Borthakur, questioned who is funding the accused's legal proceedings if their bank accounts are frozen. Mahanta remains in judicial custody after the Gauhati High Court denied him bail on May 29. ## Coverage - hindustantimes.com - assamtribune.com This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above. Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources. Last updated 2026-08-17T17:17:21+00:00. Tags: Assam Police, Gauhati High Court, Shyamkanu Mahanta, Supreme Court, Zubeen Garg Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/sc-orders-fast-track-witness-exam-in-zubeen-garg-death-case/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/sc-orders-fast-track-witness-exam-in-zubeen-garg-death-case/#story-in-brief How this brief was made: an AI model read the reports linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. Stance labels are editorial classifications of how each outlet framed this story, assigned by the same model, not ratings of the outlets. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/