The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought a response from the State on a bail plea filed by Northeast Festival organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, who is an accused in the case related to the drowning death of noted Assam singer Zubeen Garg.

A Bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notice on Mahanta's petition and scheduled the matter for hearing towards the end of July 2026 after the State accepted notice.

Mahanta, who has been organising the Northeast Festival since 2013, has been in custody for nearly nine months. He has maintained that he has been falsely implicated in the case arising from Zubeen Garg's death on September 19, 2025, while the singer was swimming in the sea in Singapore.

According to Mahanta, he was on a family holiday and was aboard a yacht with relatives and friends when the incident took place.

During the hearing, the Bench asked whether there was any possibility of Mahanta fleeing if he was granted bail.

Senior Advocate Siddharth Dave, appearing for Mahanta, told the Court that there was no such risk and pointed out that his client's passport had already been surrendered.

The case relates to the death of Zubeen Garg, who allegedly drowned under mysterious circumstances while swimming in Singaporean waters. Following the incident, several FIRs were registered accusing Mahanta and others of offences such as criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Apart from the bail plea, Mahanta has also approached the Supreme Court seeking transfer of the investigation to an independent agency and consolidation of multiple FIRs lodged against him. He has alleged that he has been subjected to a coordinated criminal process across different States despite being innocent.

In his plea, Mahanta claimed that more than 50 FIRs have been registered against him and argued that public statements by authorities, extensive media coverage and threats directed at him have adversely affected the fairness of the investigation.

The petition further states that Singaporean authorities had concluded that Zubeen Garg died due to drowning and found no evidence of foul play. However, subsequent questions surrounding the incident led to criminal cases being registered in India and the arrest of several individuals, including Mahanta.