The Supreme Court asked Sonam Raghuvanshi to either surrender temporarily while key witnesses are examined
July 21, 2026: The Supreme Court on Tuesday gave Sonam Raghuvanshi, accused of murdering her husband Raja Raghuvanshi during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, two options regarding her bail. A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and P.B. Varale said she could either voluntarily surrender while key prosecution witnesses are examined or allow the court to decide the Meghalaya government’s appeal seeking cancellation of her bail on its merits. The court also indicated that if she chose to surrender, it would direct the trial court to expedite the recording of witness statements before reconsidering her bail plea.
During the hearing, the bench questioned the basis on which the lower courts granted bail. The judges asked why the issue of non-communication of the grounds of arrest had not been raised earlier and expressed doubts over whether clerical errors in the arrest documents alone could justify bail. The court specifically referred to the incorrect mention of Section 403(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) instead of Section 103(1), which deals with the offence of murder. The Meghalaya High Court had upheld Sonam’s bail, citing these discrepancies in the arrest records.
The case relates to the alleged murder of Raja Raghuvanshi during his honeymoon in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills in May 2025. Investigators allege that Sonam conspired with her alleged partner Raj Kushwaha and three other accused to kill her husband. She was arrested in June 2025. Earlier, on July 3, the Supreme Court had refused to stay the High Court’s bail order but had expressed reservations over the reasoning adopted by the lower court.