Supreme Court Cancels Sonam Raghuvanshi’s Bail in Meghalaya Honeymoon Murder Case

New Delhi, July 23: The Supreme Court on Thursday cancelled the bail granted to Sonam Raghuvanshi, one of the accused in the alleged murder of her husband during their honeymoon in Meghalaya, and directed her to surrender before the trial court within three weeks.

A Bench of the apex court held that Sonam Raghuvanshi was not entitled to bail and overturned the earlier order that had allowed her release. With the latest ruling, she will have to return to judicial custody as the criminal trial continues.

Sonam Raghuvanshi is accused in the widely discussed case relating to the alleged murder of her husband, Raja Raghuvanshi, during the couple’s honeymoon in Meghalaya in 2025. The case drew nationwide attention following the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

The Meghalaya government had challenged the High Court‘s decision, which had upheld the trial court’s order granting bail to Sonam. The High Court had observed that she was entitled to bail because the mandatory grounds of arrest were allegedly not communicated to her at the time of her arrest.

During the hearing before the Supreme Court, the Meghalaya government argued that the grounds of arrest had, in fact, been conveyed to the accused. According to the State, the only error in the arrest documents was a typographical mistake in the arrest memo.

The government submitted that the arrest memo mistakenly mentioned Section 403(1) instead of Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), which relates to the offence of murder. It contended that this clerical error should not invalidate the arrest or justify the grant of bail.

Accepting the State’s challenge, the Supreme Court set aside the bail order and instructed Sonam Raghuvanshi to surrender before the trial court within three weeks, allowing the criminal proceedings in the case to continue in accordance with law.