Photo Courtesy: nenews
Shillong: The Supreme Court cancelled bail for Sonam Raghuvanshi on July 23. She must surrender to police within three weeks. Justices M.M. Sundresh and P.B. Varale issued the order after the Meghalaya government challenged a High Court ruling. The court ruled she can reapply for bail if the trial does not finish within six months.
Sonam, from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, faced arrest in June 2025. Her husband, businessman Raja Raghuvanshi, went missing during their May 23 honeymoon in Sohra, Meghalaya. Search teams recovered his body from a deep gorge on June 2. Police claim Sonam hired assailants to kill him for financial gain. She allegedly worked with her lover and three associates to commit the crime.
The defense argued Sonam complied with bail terms and disputed the arrest records. They claimed she was picked up in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh, not in a voluntary surrender. They also cited a clerical error in the arrest memo, which incorrectly listed Section 403(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita instead of the murder charge under Section 103(1).
The Supreme Court dismissed these arguments. The justices noted lower courts erred by focusing on minor technicalities in arrest documents. The bench confirmed she acknowledged the grounds of arrest before a magistrate. "The respondent was served with the grounds of arrest. There is a distinction between non-service of the grounds of arrest and the adequacy of the reasons communicated. The records show that the respondent acknowledged receipt of the documents and expressed satisfaction before the magistrate. Therefore, we find no reason to examine the validity of the arrest," the court observed.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta represented the state. He insisted the prosecution correctly recorded her surrender in the chargesheet. While the court reaffirmed that bail is the rule, it noted the severity of this case. Only four of 94 witnesses have testified. The trial continues.
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