New Delhi, 03 July (H.S.): The Supreme Court on Friday declined to stay the bail granted to Sonam Raghuvanshi, who is accused of murdering her husband during their honeymoon in Meghalaya. A vacation bench headed by Justice M.M. Sundresh, however, issued a notice to Sonam Raghuvanshi while hearing the Meghalaya government's appeal.

The Meghalaya government has challenged the High Court's order upholding the trial court's decision to grant bail to Sonam Raghuvanshi. During the hearing, the Supreme Court observed that since she had already been released from custody, it would not stay the High Court's order at this stage, but considered it appropriate to issue a notice to her.

The apex court also expressed concern over the High Court's reasoning, noting that the bail order appeared to have been upheld solely because of an error in the relevant statutory provision mentioned in the arrest memo.

Appearing for the Meghalaya government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the High Court had committed a legal error by affirming the grant of bail. He submitted that Sonam Raghuvanshi and her husband had travelled to Meghalaya for their honeymoon, where, according to the prosecution, she allegedly executed a premeditated plan to murder him.

Mehta told the court that Sonam allegedly killed her husband in a valley and disposed of his body by throwing it into a gorge. He further stated that three accomplices were involved in the crime. Following the murder, Sonam allegedly fled the state and was later arrested in Uttar Pradesh.

The Solicitor General contended that the High Court's decision to uphold bail was based on what was merely a typographical error in the arrest memo, rather than the merits of the case. He also argued that there was a significant risk of the accused absconding if allowed to remain on bail.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar