Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Shillong: The Supreme Court set a July 21 hearing date for the Meghalaya government’s challenge against Sonam Raghuvanshi’s bail. Justices M.M. Sundresh and P.B. Varale scheduled the session after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta pressed for an urgent review. The defense requested a delay to next week, leading the bench to finalize the July 21 date.
Raghuvanshi, an Indore native, remains accused of conspiring with hired killers to murder her businessman husband, Raja Raghuvanshi, for financial gain. The couple disappeared on May 23, 2025, during a trip to Sohra. Police recovered the victim's body from a deep gorge on June 2, 2025. Authorities arrested Raghuvanshi shortly after.
Legal proceedings now focus on a specific paperwork blunder. The Meghalaya High Court previously upheld Raghuvanshi's bail, ruling that the police exhibited a "total non-application of judicious mind" during the arrest process. Officers mistakenly cited Section 403 in the arrest memo rather than Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which governs murder penalties. Additionally, the court found that authorities failed to provide the accused with proper written grounds for her arrest.
Meghalaya officials argue this was a simple typo that should not invalidate the arrest or warrant bail in a murder case. On June 29, the High Court dismissed the state’s effort to overturn an April 27 trial court bail order. While the Supreme Court refused to stay the bail on July 3, justices indicated on July 9 that they may send the issue to a larger bench. The court will determine if a statutory citation error carries enough weight to justify bail in such a serious criminal matter.
Comments