Guwahati: Gauhati high court, in its detailed order granting bail to Sandipon Garg, an accused in the case relating to the death of Zubeen Garg, said it had taken note of the special public prosecutor’s submission that Sandipon might not have been part of the original conspiracy. The court also considered the nature of the charges against him, the completion of the investigation and the period he had already spent in judicial custody.Justice Rajesh Mazumdar noted, “It has been submitted on behalf of the state or prosecution that the petitioner may not have been a part of the original conspiracy and that the allegation against him is confined to non-discharge of the duties cast upon him to care for the deceased. This court is therefore absolved of the necessity to consider the involvement or otherwise of the petitioner in the alleged conspiracy, which originated in Assam.”The court further said the nature and gravity of the charges against Sandipon were not grievous, as no intention to cause death had been imputed to him. It added that the charges, if proved, would carry a maximum sentence of 10 years, as knowledge rather than intention had been attributed to him.The court also took into account that the investigation had been completed, the chargesheet had been filed on Dec 12, 2025, and the trial was under way. It noted that the case against Sandipon rested largely on documentary and digital evidence that had already been secured and brought on record, leaving little scope for tampering.Although the prosecution expressed apprehension that Sandipon, a suspended police officer, could influence witnesses yet to depose, the court held that he could be restrained through appropriate conditions. It also noted that the trial was being conducted by an exclusive fast-track sessions court.While granting bail, the court directed Sandipon to cooperate with the remaining trial proceedings, refrain from hampering the proceedings or tampering with evidence, not influence witnesses, and not leave the trial court’s jurisdiction without written permission. The court said his bail would be liable to cancellation if he violated the conditions.The court further said the allegation that Sandipon had instigated the singer to go swimming in the sea was “primarily based on digital evidence”. It observed that the evidence of alleged instigation was “prima facie, not glaring enough to wholly dispel the possibility of acquittal”.“On a perusal of the evidence upon which both the petitioner and the prosecution had relied, prima facie it appears to this court that the digital evidence has been opined by some of the prosecution witnesses to indicate that the petitioner had verbally restrained the deceased from entering the water for a second time, and some PWs have opined that another accused, and not the petitioner (Sandipon), had suggested a swim to the shore, after the deceased had returned to the yacht after the first swim,” the order stated.Sandipon, who was present on the yacht in Singapore when Zubeen died while swimming in the sea on Sept 19, 2025, was arrested on Oct 8, 2025, and had been in custody since Oct 15, 2025.The court also said it was confronted with a “debatable question whether the omissions alleged were breaches of a legal duty” while considering Sandipon’s bail plea in the case relating to the singer’s death in Singapore in Sept 2025.Sandipon has been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. He had been in custody for about a year when the HC considered his bail application.The court, however, clarified that its assessment was limited to the bail application and that the trial court retained the authority to examine the evidence in detail and reach a final conclusion.
