GUWAHATI: The Meghalaya Police on Thursday, July 2, approached the Supreme Court seeking an immediate stay on the bail granted to Sonam Raghuvanshi, the prime accused in the alleged murder of her husband, Raja Raghuvanshi, during their honeymoon in Meghalaya.
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The state government contended that Sonam could flee from justice if released and urged the apex court to urgently intervene.
A Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Sheel Nagu agreed to hear the state's plea on Friday after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta sought an urgent listing of the matter.
The appeal comes days after the Meghalaya High Court upheld an order of a Shillong trial court granting bail to Sonam, holding that the police had failed to effectively communicate the grounds of her arrest, thereby violating the procedural safeguards available to an arrested person.
On June 29, a single-judge Bench of Justice W. Diengdoh dismissed the state's challenge to the April 2026 order of the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Judicial), Shillong, observing that the irregularities in the arrest procedure were central to the case.
The High Court also rejected the state's argument that repeated references in the arrest documents to Section 403(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), instead of Section 103(1) dealing with murder, were merely typographical errors.
In its detailed judgment, the court further observed that the document meant to inform Sonam of the grounds of her arrest had been prepared "without any application of mind" and contained allegations that were unrelated to the case.
Sonam was arrested on June 9 from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh on charges of conspiring to murder her husband, Raja Raghuvanshi. She remained in judicial custody at Shillong District Jail for more than ten months before being granted bail.
Raja Raghuvanshi, whose family is engaged in the transport business, had married Sonam on May 11 last year in Indore. The couple travelled to Meghalaya for their honeymoon on May 20.
Sonam was reported missing on May 23, while Raja's body was recovered on June 2 from a deep ravine near a waterfall in the Sohra area of East Khasi Hills district.
Subsequently, Sonam, her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha and three of his associates were arrested in connection with the alleged murder.
