Shillong: The Supreme Court has listed for hearing on Friday (July 3) a petition filed by the Meghalaya govt seeking cancellation of the bail granted to Sonam Raghuvanshi, the prime accused in the murder of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi at Sohra in May last year.The Meghalaya govt filed the special leave petition on July 1 evening. State Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appeared before a vacation bench comprising Justices MM Sundresh and Sheel Nagu and sought an urgent hearing.Mehta told the Supreme Court that the trial court granted bail to Sonam on the ground that arresting authorities allegedly failed to fully convey the reasons for her detention. He argued that the issue could be treated as a “minor typographical error” in citing the relevant legal provision and said it was insufficient ground for bail.The Solicitor General also submitted that Sonam could abscond if she remained out on bail and sought immediate judicial intervention.On Monday (June 29), a single bench of Justice W Diengdoh of the High Court of Meghalaya dismissed the state govt’s appeal to cancel the bail, effectively upholding the lower court order.Additional deputy commissioner (judicial), Shillong, Dashalene R. Kharbteng, on April 27, granted conditional bail to Sonam, citing procedural lapses during her arrest. The court noted that police had erroneously referred to Section 403(1) BNS instead of Section 103(1) BNS (Punishment for Murder), holding that this violated her rights under Article 22 of the Constitution.The state govt has maintained that the accused was made aware of the grounds of her arrest and said it submitted supporting documents in the high court on May 4, seeking revocation of the bail.Indore-based transport businessman Raja Raghuvanshi was killed at Sohra (Cherrapunji) in May last year by a gang of hired assailants from Madhya Pradesh and UP, allegedly at the behest of his newly married wife during their honeymoon trip.
