Honeymoon Murder Case | Supreme Court Cancels Sonam Raghuvanshi's Bail, Orders Surrender Within 3 Weeks

The Supreme Court on Thursday (23 July) cancelled the bail granted to Sonam Raghuvanshi, who is facing trial in the alleged murder of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi during their honeymoon in Meghalaya. The Court held that both the trial court and the Meghalaya High Court had committed an error by granting bail on technical grounds relating to the communication of the grounds of arrest.

A Bench of Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice P.B. Varale allowed the appeal filed by the State of Meghalaya and directed Sonam Raghuvanshi to surrender before the competent court within three weeks.

Background of the Case

The case arises from the death of Raja Raghuvanshi during a honeymoon trip to Meghalaya in May 2025. According to the prosecution, Sonam Raghuvanshi is the principal accused in the case and was arrested on June 9, 2025.

The trial court had granted her bail after holding that the investigating agency had not properly communicated the grounds of arrest. The Meghalaya High Court later upheld that order, observing that the arrest documents contained errors, including a reference to an incorrect statutory provision.

The State challenged the High Court's decision before the Supreme Court, arguing that the alleged defects in the arrest documents did not justify granting bail, particularly when her earlier bail applications had already been rejected on merits.

Court's Observations

The Supreme Court drew a distinction between a complete failure to serve the grounds of arrest and defects or inadequacies in the documents supplied to an accused.

The Bench observed,

"It is not a case where the respondent was completely unserved with the grounds of arrest. There is a clear distinction between the non-service of grounds of arrest and the failure to give adequate reasons thereunder. While the first category might vitiate the arrest, in the second category, one has to apply the prejudice-oriented test."

The Court noted that the accused had been provided with the relevant documents and that the Magistrate had recorded compliance during the remand proceedings. It also found it significant that the issue regarding the grounds of arrest was raised only after three previous bail applications had already been rejected on merits.

The Bench further clarified that even where an arrest suffers from non-compliance with procedural requirements, the investigating agency is not legally prevented from carrying out a fresh arrest if required during the investigation.

In its order, the Court observed,

"A non-compliance of the service of grounds of arrest will not act as a fetter to re-arrest for the purpose of investigation."

While hearing the matter, the Bench also remarked on the pressures faced by young people in modern society. During the proceedings, Justice P.B. Varale observed,

"Whatever is being shared on WhatsApp is being treated as knowledge."

Decision

Setting aside the orders of the trial court and the Meghalaya High Court, the Supreme Court directed Sonam Raghuvanshi to surrender before the competent court within three weeks.

At the same time, the Bench granted her liberty to file a fresh application for regular bail if the ongoing trial does not conclude within six months.

The Court observed that this future request should be considered independently and should not be influenced by either the present judgment or the earlier rejection of her bail applications.

Case Details

Case Title: State of Meghalaya v. Sonam Raghuvanshi @ Bitti @ Bittu

Case Number: SLP (Crl.) No. 11944 of 2026

Judge: Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice P.B. Varale

Decision Date: 23 July 2026