The Supreme Court of India (SC) on Friday is set to hear the Meghalaya Government’s plea challenging the bail granted to Sonam Raghuvanshi, the key accused in the infamous Raja Raghuvanshi murder case reported from the state last year. The state government knocked the court’s doors seeking cancellation of Sonam’s bail, arguing that the relief was granted due to a procedural lapse that did not warrant her release.
The matter was mentioned before a vacation bench by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who urged the court to hear the petition on priority. The SC accepted the request and agreed to list the case for hearing on Friday.
Sonam Raghuvanshi and her late husband Raja Raghuvanshi (Left to Right)
Meghalaya govt challenges bail order
During the proceedings, Solicitor General Mehta submitted that Sonam had been granted bail solely because she was allegedly not informed of the grounds for her arrest at the time when she was taken into custody by the cops.
As per the state government, the issue arose from a minor typographical error in citing the relevant legal provision. Mehta contended that such an inadvertent mistake should not have become the basis of granting bail in a grim murder case.
The Solicitor General also expressed apprehension that Sonam could go on the lam if the bail order remained in force, prompting the request for an urgent hearing.
The development comes days after the Meghalaya High Court (HC) dismissed the state government’s petition challenging the bail granted to Sonam by a lower court on April 27, 2026.
Following the HC’s verdict, Raja Raghuvanshi’s elder brother, Vipin told news agency PTI that the family would continue to pursue legal recourse before the Supreme Court.
He also slammed the prosecution’s handling of the case and said the family would hire a private lawyer to procure justice independently. Vipin raised questions about how Meghalaya Police had failed to inform Sonam of the grounds for her arrest, as mandated by the law.
HC cites procedural lapses by police
While junking the state’s plea, the Meghalaya HC noted that there had been serious procedural irregularities during Sonam’s arrest.
The court noted that the manner in which the grounds of arrest were communicated reflected a ‘total non-application of judicious mind’ on the part of the arresting agency. It held that the alleged lapse struck at the very root of the arrest process and gave the accused a strong basis to contend that the grounds for her arrest had not been communicated effectively.
Furthermore, the HC ruled that the police had violated Article 22(1) of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees every person the right to be informed of the reasons for arrest and to consult a lawyer of their choice. It also held that the cops failed to comply with Section 47(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which mandates that the grounds of arrest and charges be communicated to an accused during his/her arrest.
Details of the case
Notably, the Meghalaya Police had swooped down on Sonam Raghuvanshi on June 9, 2025, from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh for allegedly conspiring to murder her husband and Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi. She remained in judicial custody at Shillong District Jail for over ten months, and managed to secure bail in April this year.
Sonam and Raja after their ring ceremony
Raja and Sonam had got hitched on May 11, 2025 and travelled to Meghalaya on May 20 for their honeymoon. Three days later, Sonam was reported missing. On June 2, Raja’s body was found from a deep gorge near a waterfall in Sohra (Cherrapunji) in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district.
After a police probe, Sonam, her alleged lover Raj Kushwaha, and three of his aides were arrested in connection with Raja’s murder. The SC’s decision on the Meghalaya government’s plea is expected to be watched closely.