Guwahati: Asked about a claim that the charge sheet in the Zubeen Garg death case amounts to a clean chit for the accused, Assam advocate general Devajit Saikia said on Sunday that the fast-track court had upheld every charge after detailed hearings and that no accused had challenged the order in the Gauhati High Court. He was speaking at a press conference in Guwahati.
The question was put by a reporter who cited the lawyer of Amritprabha Mahanta, one of two accused recently granted bail by the High Court. Saikia said the charge sheet filed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) had gone through a lengthy hearing, with the fast-track court examining every charge before upholding them all.
“Now if someone has said clean chit, they have spoken against the court. They should have challenged it. That order came seven-eight months ago... no one was discharged,” he said.
He questioned why no one had taken the matter higher if the charge sheet was indeed a clean chit. “If the charge sheet is a clean chit, then why didn’t any lawyer or any accused challenge it in the Gauhati High Court? They are facing the trial today, and this shows that the charges are strong and have been upheld by the court and no one had the courage to challenge it,” he said.
Saikia credited the SIT and the government’s lawyers for the position the prosecution has reached. He said the investigation and the work of the legal team before the Gauhati High Court, the fast-track court and the Supreme Court had succeeded because the pleadings rested on the SIT’s charge sheet.
He pointed to the length of the accused’s detention as proof of the case’s strength. “Sandipan Garg and Amritprabha Mahanta were in jail for one year and a month. The main accused Shyamkanu Mahanta is in jail, Siddharth is in jail, and Shekhar is in jail. This proves that the Assam government... otherwise, in such cases we cannot keep anyone in jail over 10 days. Over three months is not possible... after 90 days, bail is granted even in the hardest cases,” he said.
Saikia added that the accused had been denied bail at every step of the case until the last few days, when Garg and Mahanta were released after more than a year. In the Supreme Court, he said, Shyamkanu Mahanta and Siddharth Sharma had not been granted bail even after several hearings. “This tells that the investigation and the charge sheet have enough strength and substance that they have been detained for the right reasons,” he said.
Responding to questions on differing views about the government’s handling of the case, Saikia said decisions were guided by facts and law alone. “When we do our work, we do not think about whose family thinks what. We go completely on facts, law and the opinion of the court. Our decisions are not based on personal opinions,” he said.
He said the complainant who filed the FIR in Morigaon, or the family, was free to approach the court if they felt otherwise. “If anyone has any problem or a different opinion, they can approach the court. Sandipan Garg or Amritprabha Mahanta have been granted bail... the person who had filed the FIR in Morigaon can approach the court or the family can approach the court. We cannot stop them,” he said.
The Assam government is preparing to file a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court against the bail orders. “Today we have found some inconsistencies; we will immediately challenge it in the Supreme Court. This shows the urgency of the Assam government regarding the case,” he said.
Of the SIT, he said, “The SIT which investigated the case and filed the charge sheet did a great job, because of which we have found success at every stage.”
Also Read: ‘Will Leave No Stone Unturned…': Devajit Saikia Says Govt Will Challenge Amritprabha Bail