Guwahati: Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by accused Siddharth Sharma seeking transfer of the trial outside Assam in the case related to singer Zubeen Garg’s death.In May, Gauhati high court rejected Sharma’s bail plea, citing “possibilities of influencing witnesses, hampering further progress of the case and high possibilities of fly away” if released on bail.Sharma, Zubeen’s manager, is among the seven accused arrested in connection with the case and is currently in custody. He was on the yacht along with others at the time of Zubeen’s death while swimming in the sea on Sept 19 last year in Singapore. Zubeen had travelled to Singapore to attend the fourth edition of the North East India Festival and perform there.A statement issued by Assam Police reads: “Petition of accused Siddharth Sharma to transfer the trial of Zubeen Garg case, outside the state, has been dismissed today by the Supreme Court.”On Aug 17, the SC deferred the bail plea of Shyamkanu Mahanta, one of the key accused in the Zubeen murder case, and fixed Oct 5 for further hearing.A bench of Justices B V Nagarathna and R Mahadevan heard the matter and directed Assam govt to proceed diligently with the trial.The court emphasised the need for an expeditious trial. Justice Nagarathna orally observed that the court was putting pressure on the state to ensure progress and would review developments when the matter came up again.“The prosecution shall be diligent in prosecuting this case,” the court ordered.
