How Sonam Raghuvanshi Bailed: Arrested for conspiring to murder husband during honeymoon in Meghalaya Sonam Raghuvanshi Has finally got bail. This was his fourth bail petition, whereas before this his three petitions had been rejected. According to the report of NDTV, this time a major mistake in the documents related to the arrest became an important reason for the court’s decision.
The East Khasi Hills District Court found that Sonam was not informed about the correct sections against her at the time of her arrest, as is required under the law. In this case, the FIR was registered under Section 103 of the Indian Justice Code (BNS), 2023, which deals with murder. However, in the “Intimation of Grounds of Arrest” given to Sonam, Section 403(1) was mentioned, which is not present in the BNS.
Was there any such section in IPC?
According to the report, the same incorrect section was repeated in all the official documents related to the arrest. These include checklist of justification for arrest, arrest memo, inspection memo, information about the rights of the arrested person and an excerpt from the case diary. In the old Indian Penal Code (IPC), section 403 was related to dishonestly acquiring property, whereas there is no such section in BNS.
What did the prosecution say?
The court said in its order that looking at the information on the basis of arrest, it is clear that the petitioner was not given correct information about the murder charge. The prosecution called it a minor clerical mistake, but the court held that the repetition of the same mistake in every document does not make it a simple mistake.
Furthermore, the court also noted that in the arrest form, no box indicating the nature of the charges was ticked against Sonam’s name. This was considered another major flaw, which further weakened the case.
The report also said that there is no evidence on record that Sonam had legal representation when she was first produced before the magistrate in Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh. On this basis, the court also rejected the prosecution’s argument that Sonam had given up her rights by raising her objection late.
On which four conditions did Sonam get bail?
Shillong’s Additional Deputy Commissioner (Judicial) Dashalen R. Kharbateng has granted bail to Sonam with four conditions. Under this, they will not have to abscond, will not have to tamper with evidence or witnesses and will have to appear in the court on every scheduled date. Also, she cannot go out of the jurisdiction of the court without permission and will have to give a personal bond of Rs 50,000 along with two sureties of equal amount.
What is this matter?
This matter has been a topic of discussion across the country since mid-2025. Indore businessman Raja Raghuvanshi married Sonam on 11 May 2025 and on 20 May, both of them went to Meghalaya for honeymoon. After a few days, both of them went missing, after which a large-scale search operation was conducted with the help of Sohra Police, Special Operation Team, NDRF, SDRF, trekking groups and local volunteers. Raja’s body was recovered on 2 June 2025.
What came to light in the investigation?
Later investigation revealed that it was a well-planned conspiracy. According to the report, Sonam and her alleged boyfriend Raj Kushwaha, who previously worked in her family’s business, had planned the murder together and tried to make it look like an accident.
It was told that three betel nut killers attacked Raja with a machete near Wei Sodong Falls, while Sonam was also present at the spot. After this the body was thrown into the ditch and the mobile phone was switched off. On June 9, a few days after the murder, Sonam was detained from a dhaba in Ghazipur. Kushwaha and three other accused – Akash Rajput, Vishal Singh Chauhan and Anand Kurmi were also arrested and are currently in judicial custody.
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