Guwahati, 13 May (HS): The Gauhati High Court on Wednesday rejected the bail petition of Shyamkannu Mahanta, the prime accused in the Zubeen Garg murder case, bringing another setback for the accused in the high-profile matter.

The bail plea came up for hearing before the bench of Justice Parthiv Jyoti Saikia. After hearing arguments presented by both the prosecution and the defence, the court declined to admit the bail petition.

Following the rejection of the plea, Mahanta’s advocate, who had arrived from Kolkata, reportedly completed necessary legal formalities by registering the case-related documents at the registrar office of the High Court.

Earlier, Mahanta had approached the Gauhati High Court after his bail applications were rejected several times by the Fast Track Court. The case has continued to attract considerable public and legal attention due to its sensitive nature.

Sources said both sides placed their arguments before the court during Wednesday’s hearing. Notably, in April this year, the Fast Track Court had reserved its order on Mahanta’s bail plea after hearing submissions on the chargesheet and later rejected the plea on April 30.

It may be mentioned that the bail application of another prime accused in the case, Siddharth Sharma, had also been rejected earlier by the Fast Track Court.-------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Sriprakash