Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Shillong: The Supreme Court pressed Sonam Raghuvanshi on July 21 to either surrender or face a formal ruling on her bail. She stands accused of killing her husband, businessman Raja Raghuvanshi, during a 2025 honeymoon trip to the Sohra area of Meghalaya. Justices M.M. Sundresh and P.B. Varale issued the ultimatum while hearing a state challenge to the bail previously granted by a trial court and upheld by the Meghalaya High Court.
"You have two options. Either we will pass an order on merits or we will ask you to surrender, let the public witnesses be examined—meanwhile we will decide the matter on merits," the Bench stated. The court expects a decision from her counsel by Thursday.
Raja Raghuvanshi’s body turned up in a deep gorge on June 2, 2025, after the couple went missing on May 23. Police allege Sonam conspired with her lover and three hired thugs to execute the murder for money. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court the victim was killed before being thrown over the edge. Mehta countered defense claims regarding a flawed arrest memo, calling any omission a mere clerical error. The state argues that because she surrendered voluntarily in Ghazipur, she cannot complain about missing arrest details.
The defense maintains the case relies on circumstantial evidence and claims the media hyped the narrative. A previous court ruling granted bail due to a typo in the arrest memo, which cited a non-existent law instead of Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The Justices questioned her conduct immediately following the attack. They want to know why she claims she was never told why she was arrested. The court adjourned the matter until Thursday to await her decision.
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