'Don’t Want To Be Too Harsh': Supreme Court Refuses To Stay Sonam Raghuvanshi's Bail

New Delhi: In a relief to Sonam Raghuvanshi, who is accused of murdering her husband, Raja Raghuvanshi, during their honeymoon in Meghalaya last year, the Supreme Court on Friday refused to cancel the bail granted to her. A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Sheel Nagu heard the matter.

During the hearing, the top court noted that the accused had already been released from jail and was currently in Shillong in compliance with the bail conditions imposed by the trial court, reported The Times of India.

Earlier, on June 29, the Meghalaya High Court upheld a Shillong court's April order granting bail to Sonam, prompting the state government to challenge the order.

The apex court, during the hearing, had primarily said it would cancel the bail but later refused to do so, noting she had already been released from jail. "If she is released already, we would not want to interfere," the court said.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also referred to the Pune murder case of Ketan Agarwal during the hearing.

“Recently, a wife killed her husband because he was wearing a wig," Mehta submitted, referring to the Siya-Ketan case. He further argued that such incidents had increased after the present case.

The bench concluded by observing, “Prima facie, we were inclined to stay, but for the fact that she has been released already, we don’t want to be too harsh."

The bench said it would first observe the progress of the trial and also issued a notice to Sonam.

Background of the case

The case dates back to May 2025, when newlyweds Raja and Sonam Raghuvanshi disappeared during their honeymoon in Meghalaya. They were last seen after checking out of a homestay in Nongriat. Days later, their rented scooter was found abandoned, and on June 2, Raja's body was recovered from a deep gorge near Weisawdong Falls in East Khasi Hills.