Guwahati: Gauhati high court while granting bail to singer Amritprava Mahanta, accused of conspiring to murder singer Zubeen Garg in Singapore in Sept 2025, held that the investigation materials and prosecution evidence recorded did not establish a prima facie case against her.The bail was granted on Oct 9 by a special fast-track court in Guwahati.“Upon perusing the investigation materials and trial testimony so far, the court is unable to find a prima facie case against A-4 (Amritprava), with regard to alleged offence of conspiracy and murder of the victim,” Justice Pranjal Das observed in the detailed order uploaded on Monday, adding: “It would be a travesty of justice to deny her bail at this stage.”The judge clarified that the absence of a prima facie case “is only for the purpose of the present bail adjudication”, adding that “the final determination of the question of guilt or otherwise is a subject of the ongoing trial”.The high court cited seven grounds for granting bail. It said police statements, depositions of witnesses examined by a judicial magistrate during the investigation, trial testimony and documents forming part of the chargesheet did not substantively implicate Amritprava in the alleged offences.“The materials so far, not even making out a prima facie case against A-4,” Justice Das stated.The court also cited the chargesheet findings not receiving support from investigation materials, the progress of the trial—with 124 prosecution witnesses already examined—and Amritprava’s prolonged detention of 369 days since her arrest on Oct 3, 2025.Her gender was another consideration. The court referred to the provision for women seeking bail under Section 480(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, corresponding to Section 437(1) of the CrPC. It noted that the provision remained constitutionally valid and referred to principles laid down by Supreme Court in the Satender Kumar Antil case. Her lack of previous criminal antecedents was the seventh ground.Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said govt will not comment on decisions of Supreme Court or HCs. “However, I know one thing, the way the fast-track court is investigating the case and conducting hearings almost every day and given that no accused has been granted bail by the court for over one year, we are confident that we will be able to obtain justice through the court,” he had said after the bail was awarded.Of the seven accused, murder and criminal conspiracy charges have been framed against four: Shyamkanu Mahanta, organiser of the Singapore show; Siddharth Sharma, Zubeen’s manager; Shekharjyoti Goswami, a band member; and Amritprava, a co-singer.According to the prosecution, the four conspired to murder Zubeen. In furtherance of the alleged conspiracy, they took him to Singapore for a cultural festival, where he was allegedly given alcohol before being taken on a yacht trip to the sea and encouraged and incited to swim, even without a life jacket.The chargesheet alleged that Amritprava was one of the conspirators and had given alcohol to Zubeen on the previous night.However, Justice Das said, “I have not found any statement or document whatsoever from the investigation materials, stating or indicating with regard to A-4 that — she fed alcohol to the victim; she had any role in the victim going to Singapore; she had any role in making any room change arrangements; she had any role in organising the yacht trip; she had any role in the victim going to the sea to swim; she had any role in the victim going to swim the second time, without life jacket.”The court directed Amritprava to cooperate with the trial, take necessary precautions for her safety and barred her from travelling abroad.“Ideally, ‘legal justice’ and society’s sense of justice should coincide but, sometimes, they can be at variance as well, with court — as part of its duty — going by legal justice, which might be different, temporarily or otherwise, from society’s notion of justice in a particular case. A court has to be conscious of society’s sense of justice, but cannot be captive to it,” the judge said.The remaining three accused—Zubeen’s two PSOs and his cousin—face charges of financial conspiracy and criminal breach of trust, and culpable homicide not amounting to murder, respectively.
