The Supreme Court on Thursday set aside the bail granted to Sonam Raghuvanshi, the prime accused in the murder of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi during their honeymoon in Meghalaya last year, directing her to surrender before the police within three weeks, reported PTI.
A Bench of Justices M M Sundresh and P B Varale allowed a plea filed by the Meghalaya government challenging the bail order.
The court, however, said that if the trial does not proceed and conclude within six months, she would be at liberty to file a fresh bail application.
Supreme Court earlier asked Sonam Raghuvanshi to surrender
The order came two days after the apex court indicated that it was inclined to ask Raghuvanshi to surrender and face trial unless she chose to do so voluntarily while key prosecution witnesses were examined.
During the hearing on Tuesday, the Bench asked Raghuvanshi's counsel to seek instructions on whether she was willing to surrender voluntarily.
"Either we will consider and pass an order on merits, or we will pass an order making you surrender. We are putting it to you because we don't want to catch you by surprise, and at the same time, you should also understand our mind. You just get instructions and come back to us," Justice Sundresh had orally observed, according to ANI.
Meghalaya government's appeal
Earlier, another Bench headed by Justice Manoj Misra had indicated that the Meghalaya government's appeal against the grant of bail might have to be referred to a larger Bench because of conflicting rulings by coordinate Benches on whether the grounds of arrest must necessarily be furnished to an accused in writing.
The Bench had observed that there was a conflict in previous judgments on whether written grounds of arrest were mandatory and said it would first decide whether the legal issue required consideration by a larger Bench.
Raghuvanshi, a resident of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, was arrested in June 2025 in connection with the alleged murder of her husband, businessman Raja Raghuvanshi.
What is the case about
The couple had travelled to Meghalaya for their honeymoon. Raja Raghuvanshi went missing while vacationing in the Sohra region on 23 May 2025. His body was recovered from a deep gorge on 2 June 2025, triggering a high-profile investigation.
According to the Meghalaya Police, Raghuvanshi conspired with hired assailants to kill her husband as part of a conspiracy allegedly hatched with her purported lover, Raj Kushwaha, with the objective of securing financial gain. She was later arrested along with the other accused in the case.
The Meghalaya government subsequently challenged the bail granted to her, arguing that she should remain in custody while the trial proceeds. With Thursday's order, the Supreme Court has restored her custody while keeping open the option of a fresh bail plea if the trial is not completed within six months.
