SC declines to stay Sonam Raghuvanshi's bail, questions Meghalaya HC's approach

Published 3 July 2026 · politics

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the bail granted to Sonam Raghuvanshi, one of the key accused in the alleged murder of her

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay the bail granted to Sonam Raghuvanshi, one of the key accused in the alleged murder of her husband, Raja Raghuvanshi, while hearing a plea filed by the Meghalaya government challenging the order. According to ANI, the top court, however, expressed prima facie reservations over the manner in which the Meghalaya High Court had dealt with the case and sought a response from Sonam Raghuvanshi before taking a final call. A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and Sheel Nagu heard the matter after the Meghalaya government approached the apex court against the High Court's decision to uphold the bail granted to Raghuvanshi. While the bench said it was initially inclined to stay the bail order, it ultimately decided against passing an interim order, as Sonam had already been released, had spent time in custody, and had sought time to respond to the state's plea.

The matter has now been posted for further hearing on 9 July. Court cites need for a balanced approach According to ANI, the Supreme Court observed that while the allegations against Raghuvanshi were serious, it had to balance them against the settled legal principle that "bail is the rule and jail is the exception." "We are conscious of the fact that she was in incarceration for a while. We know that bail is the rule and jail is the exception. Regardless of how heinous the crime is, we will try to think of a balanced approach," the bench observed. The court also noted that Raghuvanshi had already been released pursuant to the High Court's order and that the allegations against her would ultimately be tested during the trial. At the same time, the bench made it clear that it had reservations about the reasoning adopted by the Meghalaya High Court.

"Prima facie, we have reservations about how the High Court is dealing with it. We don't want to pass an order today. Let things go on," the judges said. The bench further questioned whether the High Court was justified in granting bail on what appeared to be a technical ground related to the communication of the grounds of arrest. It was observed that Raghuvanshi had been informed of the grounds of arrest and had not raised the issue in her earlier bail applications. State alleges murder was pre-planned Appearing for the Meghalaya government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the courts below had failed to consider the gravity of the allegations and the material collected during the investigation. According to ANI, he described the case as a "pre-determined murder" and told the court that the chargesheet alleged Sonam Raghuvanshi had actively participated in the killing along with three co-accused before Raja Raghuvanshi's body was allegedly thrown into a gorge.