Shillong Court Grants Bail to Sonam Raghuvanshi in Meghalaya Honeymoon Murder Case Over Defective Arrest Intimation

April 28, 2026 : A court in Shillong has granted bail to Sonam Raghuvanshi, the prime accused in the May 2025 honeymoon murder of her husband, Raja Raghuvanshi, citing failure by the police to properly communicate the grounds of her arrest.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (Judicial) Dashalene R Kharbteng allowed the fourth bail application, observing that the “Intimation of Grounds of Arrest” document contained unticked checkboxes and incorrectly cited provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The court also noted the absence of any material indicating that the accused had legal representation when first produced before a court in Ghazipur.

Relying on the Supreme Court of India ruling in Vihaan Kumar vs State of Haryana (2025), the court held that non-compliance with Article 22(1) of the Constitution of India—which mandates that an arrested person be informed of the grounds of arrest—vitiates the arrest and justifies grant of bail. She was released on a personal bond of ₹50,000 with conditions.

The court found that all arrest-related documents wrongly referred to Section 403(1) (dishonest misappropriation) instead of Section 103(1) (murder), and did not communicate the specific allegations. Rejecting the prosecution’s argument of clerical error, the court held that such inconsistencies across documents caused clear prejudice to the accused.

Sonam has been in custody since June 2025, following her arrest in Uttar Pradesh. The prosecution alleges a premeditated murder conspiracy involving her and co-accused Raj Kushwaha, along with three alleged hired assailants. A chargesheet exceeding 700 pages has already been filed, and charges for murder have been framed.