SC sets aside bail granted to Sonam Raghuvanshi, gives 3 weeks to surrender before police

24/07/2026

NEW DELHI, Jul 23: The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside the bail granted to Sonam Raghuvanshi, accused of killing her husband Raja Raghuvanshi during their honeymoon in 2025, and directed her to surrender within three weeks before police.
While holding that continued enlargement at this stage might hinder the ongoing trial, a bench of Justices M M Sundresh and P B Varale allowed the plea filed by the Meghalaya government challenging the bail granted to Sonam.
"The respondent (Sonam) expressed her satisfaction on the reasons behind her arrest. Documents were indeed served on her.
"Therefore, we are not inclined to go into the issue of the validity of the arrest. Suffice it to state that both courts have committed an error by granting bail on the basis of the judgment rendered by this court," the bench said.
The apex court said in the event of trial not proceeding and concluding within six months, Sonam is at liberty to file a fresh bail application.
The top court had earlier questioned the conduct of Sonam while suggesting that she surrender and face trial in the case.
The accused, a resident of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, was arrested in June last year in connection with the killing of her businessman husband Raja Raghuvanshi.
The couple had gone missing while vacationing in Meghalaya's Sohra area on May 23 last year. Subsequently, Raja's body was found in a deep gorge on June 2, 2025.
The police have alleged that Sonam conspired with hired assailants to kill her husband for financial gains.
The counsel appearing for Sonam defended the bail saying that she was not given grounds of arrest.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Meghalaya government, submitted that Sonam was not only given the grounds of arrest but also the relevant documents.
Mehta said the allegations against Sonam are quite serious and the Meghalaya High Court erred in upholding her bail.
The high court had upheld Sonam's bail on the grounds that the police failed to supply proper written grounds of arrest, noting a "total non-application of judicious mind" because the memo cited Section 403 (which does not exist in the context) instead of Section 103(1) (punishment for murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
On June 29, the Meghalaya High Court upheld a trial court order granting bail to the accused.
The high court dismissed a petition filed by the state seeking cancellation of the bail granted by the trial court on April 27.
It held that the manner in which the grounds of arrest were prepared reflected a "total non-application of judicious mind".

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