The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the Meghalaya High Court's order granting bail to Sonam Raghuvanshi, the prime accused in the alleged murder of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi during their honeymoon in Meghalaya last year, while agreeing to hear the state's appeal after the court reopens.
A bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Sheel Nagu expressed reservations over the high court's order but declined to grant interim relief, noting that Sonam had already been released from jail and was in Shillong in compliance with the bail conditions imposed by the trial court.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Meghalaya government, argued that the allegations against Sonam were grave and that she should not have been granted bail on technical grounds. He sought an immediate stay on the high court's order, but the bench refused the request and posted the matter for further hearing after the apex court reopens.
On Thursday, the Meghalaya government had moved the Supreme Court challenging the June 29 order of the Meghalaya High Court, which upheld a trial court's April 27 decision granting bail to Sonam.
During the mention for urgent listing, Mehta submitted that there was a serious apprehension that Sonam could abscond if allowed to remain on bail.
The state has contended that both the trial court and the high court erred in granting bail on procedural grounds. The two courts had held that Meghalaya Police failed to comply with statutory provisions requiring the accused to be furnished with the grounds of arrest, observing that the investigating agency had not applied its mind judiciously. Based on these procedural lapses, the trial court granted bail, which was subsequently affirmed by the high court.
Mehta also informed the Supreme Court that Sonam's two earlier bail applications had been rejected by the trial court on the ground that she posed a flight risk if released.
Sonam Raghuvanshi, a resident of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, was arrested in June last year in connection with the murder of her businessman husband Raja Raghuvanshi.
The couple had gone missing while vacationing in Meghalaya's Sohra area on May 23 last year. Raja's body was recovered from a deep gorge on June 2, 2025.
Police have alleged that Sonam Raghuvanshi conspired with hired assailants to kill her husband for financial gain.