Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday declined to stay the bail granted to Sonam Raghuvanshi, accused of orchestrating the murder of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi during their honeymoon at Sohra in Meghalaya last year. A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Sheel Nagu noted reservations about the High Court’s handling of the case but declined to reverse the bail order since Sonam had already been released and was in Shillong in compliance with bail conditions.
Government’s Arguments
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Meghalaya government, argued that the allegations were grave and that bail should not have been granted on technical grounds. He contended that the trial court had granted bail citing a minor typographical error — police had cited Section 403(1) of the BNS instead of Section 103(1) dealing with murder — which the trial court treated as a violation of Sonam’s rights under Article 22 of the Constitution.
Court’s Observations
The bench verbally observed that this was not a case where grounds of arrest had been entirely withheld from the accused. It reiterated the settled legal principle that bail is the rule and jail is the exception, regardless of the seriousness of the crime. The court has asked Sonam’s lawyer to file a counter affidavit to the Meghalaya government’s plea and listed the matter for hearing next Thursday.
Background
According to the prosecution, Raja Raghuvanshi was murdered during his honeymoon after assailants from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were allegedly hired at Sonam’s behest. The Meghalaya High Court had on Monday dismissed the state government’s plea seeking cancellation of her bail.
