Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Shillong: The Supreme Court is weighing whether a simple typo in an arrest document can invalidate a murder charge. Justices Manoj Misra and Shree Chandrashekhar are reviewing the case of Sonam Raghuvanshi, who walked free on bail after a Meghalaya court flagged a clerical mistake in her arrest memo.
The state government argues the error, which cited section 403 instead of the murder statute 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, is purely technical. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the court the error should not overshadow the brutality of the crime. "This is a very serious case. It was a premeditated murder. She killed the husband on a hill and threw the body into a gorge," Mehta stated.
Raja Raghuvanshi vanished during a May 2025 honeymoon trip to Sohra. His body was pulled from a deep gorge days later. Police accuse Sonam Raghuvanshi of hiring killers to murder her husband for money. The Meghalaya High Court previously upheld her bail, claiming the paperwork error showed a total lack of focus by investigators.
The Supreme Court has now ordered the state to produce the original, legible arrest documents. The bench wants to see exactly what information reached the accused at the time of her arrest. They may eventually refer the matter to a larger bench to decide if such documentation flaws make an arrest illegal. "If this ground is not sustainable, then the bail order goes," Justice Misra said.
Sonam Raghuvanshi maintains her innocence. Her lawyers argue she was falsely implicated and that no further evidence remains to be recovered. She currently lives in Shillong under court-ordered conditions. The high court is not staying the bail for now. The matter returns to the Supreme Court on July 14.
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