Senior advocate outlines court’s next steps as SIT files chargesheet in Zubeen Garg case

A senior advocate, on December 12, has clarified the legal pathway ahead after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) submitted its 3,500-page chargesheet in the Zubeen Garg case, marking one of the most significant developments since the singer’s death.

 

Speaking to India Today NE, the advocate explained that once the investigation team places the report before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), “the judge... will review the findings in the charge sheet.” He added that after this stage, the document is forwarded to the Sessions Court, where staff “register the charge sheet and assign it a case number.”

 

According to him, the Sessions Court may either proceed with the trial or transfer the matter to another competent court, depending on jurisdictional requirements. He noted that the chargesheet becomes accessible to the public only under specific circumstances: “If a member of the public files a petition, that is when the charge sheet will be made public.”

 

The SIT filed the document at 11:29 am on December 12, following months of investigation, multiple arrests and extensive forensic work. The chargesheet compiles witness accounts and evidence gathered since Garg’s death in Singapore on 19 September, a case that has generated intense public scrutiny across Assam.

 

Earlier, the SIT had arrived at the CID office with three compiled volumes of evidence to finalise the submission. Officials said the material will form the foundation of the judicial process once the case is numbered and listed.

 

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, addressing public concern, urged citizens to trust the legal process. “The SIT will submit its chargesheet, and the court will examine it. The culprit will be punished by the court,” he said, expressing confidence that “justice will be delivered.”

 

The filing now shifts the matter fully into the judiciary’s arena, where the courts will determine the course of the proceedings in the coming weeks.