Overview
- The special fast‑track court presided by Judge Sharmila Bhuyan formally framed charges against all seven accused on Tuesday, May 26, allowing a full criminal trial to proceed.
- Four people — Shyamkanu Mahanta, Siddharth (Siddhartha) Sharma, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprava (Amritprabha) Mahanta — were charged with murder under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita while three others face lesser counts including culpable homicide, conspiracy and breach of trust.
- The court ordered that trial hearings begin on June 8 and run on a daily basis, directing the prosecution to submit a comprehensive witness list that it says may include several hundred witnesses.
- The trial will confront conflicting official findings because a Singapore coroner in March concluded Garg’s death was an accidental drowning with no foul play, creating a cross‑border dispute over forensic and witness evidence.
- Key pretrial matters remain unresolved, including the Gauhati High Court’s reserved decision on prime accused Shyamkanu Mahanta’s bail and sustained public and political pressure after the Assam CID SIT filed a voluminous chargesheet.