The Gauhati High Court has granted bail to cousin of singer Zubeen Garg, who is facing charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder in connection with the singer’s death in Singapore in September 2025.
Justice Rajesh Mazumdar allowed the bail application, observing that the allegations against the accused is of instigating the singer to go swimming despite his alleged medical condition and state of intoxication, required consideration alongside the evidence produced during the ongoing trial.
The Court noted that some prosecution witnesses had indicated that the accused had verbally restrained Zubeen Garg from entering the water for a second time, while some witnesses attributed the suggestion to swim towards the shore to another accused. It observed that the evidence regarding the alleged instigation was, at the bail stage, not sufficiently conclusive to wholly dispel the possibility of acquittal. The Court clarified that these observations were tentative and would not affect the trial.
The Court also took note of the prosecution’s submission that the accused may not have been part of the original conspiracy allegedly hatched in Assam, and that the allegations against him primarily concerned his alleged failure to discharge a duty of care towards the deceased.
Considering that the investigation had been completed, the chargesheet had been filed, the accused had been in custody since October 8, 2025, and the trial was likely to take further time, the Court held that he was entitled to bail. It also noted that the case against him relied substantially on documentary and digital evidence already secured by the prosecution.
The Court directed his release on a bond of ₹50,000 with two local sureties of the same amount, subject to conditions, including cooperation with the trial, non-interference with evidence or witnesses, and not leaving the trial court’s jurisdiction without prior written permission.
The Court clarified that its observations were confined to the bail application and should not be treated as an expression of opinion on the merits of the case.
