A local court on Tuesday granted bail to Sonam Raghuvanshi, the primary accused in the alleged murder of her husband, Raja Raghuvanshi, marking a significant development in a case that has drawn attention across Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh.
Confirming the development, Special Public Prosecutor KC Gautam stated that the court had issued the bail order earlier in the day. While the detailed grounds for granting bail were not immediately disclosed, the order comes months after the filing of a comprehensive chargesheet in the case.
Sources told EastMojo that the legal team is yet to examine the detailed bail order and will decide on the next course of action thereafter. “We cannot say anything conclusively at this stage as we have not studied the bail order yet. However, most likely we are going to challenge it,” a source said.
When asked about the basis of the court’s decision, the source indicated that bail was granted on procedural grounds, noting that the grounds of arrest were not communicated to the accused when she was first produced before a magistrate in Ghazipur. This, the source said, was treated as a technical lapse. The source added that the plea was raised at a “very belated stage” and did not clearly establish how the accused was prejudiced, despite multiple earlier bail applications.
It is also understood that the court held the initial remand report to be illegal, which affected the validity of subsequent remand proceedings. “Since the first remand was declared illegal, the subsequent remands also come into question. That appears to have weighed in the court’s decision to grant bail,” the source said.
Despite being granted bail, strict conditions have been imposed on the accused, Sonam Raghuvanshi. She has been barred from leaving the court’s jurisdiction and is not permitted to leave Shillong. She has also been directed to appear before the court on all scheduled dates and is prohibited from contacting or influencing witnesses.
The case relates to the murder of Indore-based businessman Raja Raghuvanshi, whose body was recovered in Meghalaya last year under circumstances that triggered a multi-state investigation. The Meghalaya Police, following an extensive probe, filed a detailed 790-page chargesheet on September 5 before the court of the Judicial Magistrate First Class in Sohra Sub-Division, outlining the sequence of events and the alleged roles of the accused.
According to investigators, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Meghalaya Police had arrested Sonam Raghuvanshi along with her alleged associate Raj Kushwaha and three others — Akash Rajput, Anand Kurmi and Vishal Singh Chauhan. The police have alleged that the group acted in concert to execute a premeditated murder plan, which was purportedly orchestrated by Sonam and Kushwaha.
The case has been treated as a conspiracy-driven crime, with investigators pointing to prior planning and coordination among the accused. All those arrested have been charged under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which replaced the Indian Penal Code last year.
The matter remains under judicial consideration, and further proceedings are expected in the coming weeks.
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