Shillong: The Supreme Court rejected a bid to block bail for Sonam Raghuvanshi on Friday. She remains the lead suspect in the 2025 honeymoon murder of her husband, Raja Raghuvanshi. The top court let stand a High Court ruling that criticized how the state handled her arrest. Procedural failures caused the release.
The police failed basic paperwork. Officers cited the wrong law in the arrest memo, using Section 403(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita instead of the murder provision under Section 103(1). They also handed the accused a generic form packed with irrelevant data. The courts called this a total lack of focus by investigators.
Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong previously defended the force. He insisted the Special Investigation Team followed all rules. Tynsong claimed, "procedures, rules, and regulations have to be followed while dealing with criminal cases." He maintained the police committed no errors despite the court findings.
Authorities finished a 790-page chargesheet in just 13 days. They once held this case up as a major win. Now, that win looks hollow. The state government remains silent on whether they will hold anyone accountable for these botched documents. No internal probes exist. No training updates are coming. Justice derailed on a technicality.
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