Raja Raghuvanshi Murder: Accused Wife Sonam Files Counter-Affidavit, Asserts Innocence; Next SC Hearing Likely On July 14

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Sonam Raghuvanshi, the prime accused in Indore businessman and husband Raja Raghuvanshi's murder, filed a counter-affidavit in the Supreme Court, reasserting her innocence. Sonam, in the affidavit, mentioned that she was implicated on false charges of killing her husband Raja during their honeymoon in Meghalaya and that she has been consistently cooperating with the investigation and the trial.

Next hearing on July 14

The Supreme Court bench of Justice Manoj Mishra and Justice Chandrashekhar heard the case on Thursday. The next hearing has been listed for July 14, 2026.

'We don't want to be harsh': SC refuses to stay Sonam's bail

Earlier this week on July 3, the Supreme Court had refused to cancel the bail granted to her, stating that it was already granted and the court does not want to interfere with that.

A bench of justices MM Sundresh and Sheel Nagu heard the matter.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta even mentioned the Pune Ketan Agarwal murder, where fiancé Siya Goyal is the prime accused, emphasising that such incidents have increased after the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case. The apex court said, "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 timeline

It was during May 2025 when the newlyweds Raja Raghuvanshi and Sonam Raghuvanshi went for their honeymoon to the Northeast. They first sought blessings at Kamakhya Temple in Assam, then went to tour Meghalaya. It was on May 24 when the couple lost contact with the family.

During the search, Meghalaya police recovered Raja's body from a gorge near Shillong on June 2. While the search for Sonam was still on. A week later, Sonam was found near a dhaba at Ghazipur, near the UP border.

Last month, Shillong Court had given bail to Sonam. Following which, the Meghalaya government approached the Meghalaya High Court. The high court, too, upheld Shillong's court order, prompting Raja's family to approach the Supreme Court.