The case began after Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife Sonam, who got married on May 12, 2025, went missing during their honeymoon in Meghalaya. The couple was last seen leaving a homestay in Nongriat on May 23.
Published: July 21, 2026, 2:56 PM IST
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Sonam claims innocence in Supreme Court in Raja Raghuvanshi murder case: ‘Have been falsely implicated’ (File)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday suggested that Sonam Raghuvanshi, the main accused in the Meghalaya honeymoon murder case, surrender and face trial instead of continuing to remain out on bail. A bench of Justice M.M. Sundresh and Justice P.B. Varale was hearing the Meghalaya government’s appeal against the High Court’s order granting her bail. During the hearing, the judges questioned Sonam’s conduct and asked why she had not challenged the alleged failure to provide the grounds of her arrest at the earliest stage of the case.
The court also questioned the importance of the clerical mistake in the arrest memo, which the High Court had relied on while granting bail. The bench observed that such an error may not have much significance at this stage of the trial.
The judges told Sonam’s lawyer that the court was considering two options—either deciding the bail matter on its merits or asking her to surrender while the trial moves forward. They asked the lawyer to take instructions from his client before the next hearing.
“Either we will consider and pass an order on merits or we will pass an order making you surrender. We are putting it to you because we don’t want to catch you by surprise and at the same time you should also understand our mind. You just get instructions and come back to us,” Justice Sundresh said.
Justice Sundresh also indicated that surrendering could be a better option for Sonam. He said that if she chose to do so, the Supreme Court could direct the trial court to first record the statements of key public witnesses and then reconsider her bail request after that stage of the trial.
Suggesting what it considered the preferable course, the judge added, “I think the second option is better for you. If you want to argue further, we will hear you and then decide one way or the other.”
The bench said it would hear the matter further after Sonam’s counsel returned with instructions.
On June 29, the High Court upheld the trial court’s decision to grant bail to Sonam Raghuvanshi. The court said the mistake in the arrest documents showed that they had not been prepared carefully. It also observed that mentioning the non-existent Section 403(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) instead of Section 103(1) in several important documents could not be treated as a simple typing error.
The High Court said that if the basic legal process behind the arrest was flawed, the later steps taken in the investigation would also be affected.
The case began after Raja Raghuvanshi and his wife Sonam, who got married on May 12, 2025, went missing during their honeymoon in Meghalaya. The couple was last seen leaving a homestay in Nongriat on May 23.
A few days later, the scooter they had rented was found abandoned near Sohrarim. On June 2, nearly 10 days after they went missing, Raja’s body was recovered from a deep gorge near Weisawdong Falls in the East Khasi Hills district.
Sonam, who remained missing until June 8, was later found near a roadside eatery on the Varanasi-Ghazipur highway.
The Meghalaya Police later named Sonam and Raj Kushwaha (21) as the main accused in Raja’s murder. Police have since filed a chargesheet of more than 700 pages, alleging that Sonam and Kushwaha had planned the murder in advance.
