Shyamkanu Mahanta, a cultural entrepreneur and one of the main defendants in the ongoing inquiry into the death of Assam's music icon Zubeen Garg, had moved the Supreme Court prior to his arrest.

Mahanta had filed the plea before his arrest

Mahanta filed a plea with the Supreme Court on September 30, while still in Singapore, through counsel Raj Kamal. The move was interpreted as a preemptive effort to protect his legal rights ahead of his return to India. However, a day later, on October 1, he was arrested by Assam Police at New Delhi International Airport when immigration officials held him.