Meghalaya Government Appeals Supreme Court Ruling on Sonam Raghuvanshi's Bail
Supreme Court Hearing on Bail Case
File image of Sonam in police custody after surrender in Ghazipur. (Photo:X)
New Delhi, Jul 2: The government of Meghalaya has approached the Supreme Court to contest the bail granted to Sonam Raghuvanshi, who stands accused of murdering her husband during their honeymoon in 2025.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed a bench comprising Justices MM Sundresh and Sheel Nagu that the high court made an error in allowing bail for the main accused and requested an expedited hearing of the case.
Mehta argued that the bail was granted on the basis that the grounds for her arrest were not fully disclosed at the time of her apprehension.
He noted, "The failure to provide the necessary documents stemmed from a typographical mistake in the citation of the law," stressing that there is a significant risk of the accused fleeing.
The bench agreed to schedule the hearing for Friday.
Sonam was released on bail after a lower court determined that the investigating officers did not adequately communicate the reasons for her arrest, which adversely affected her defense.
The court pointed out that all documents related to the arrest, including the arrest memo and case diary extracts, incorrectly referenced Section 403(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) instead of the correct Section 103(1), which pertains to murder charges.
In its appeal to the High Court, the Meghalaya government contended that the procedural error did not result in any real prejudice to the accused.
On June 29, the Meghalaya High Court upheld the trial court's decision to grant bail to Sonam Raghuvanshi.
The couple had been reported missing while on vacation in the Sohra region of Meghalaya on May 23 last year, and Raja Raghuvanshi's body was discovered in a gorge on June 2, 2025.
Authorities allege that Sonam plotted with hired individuals to murder her husband for financial benefits.