NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to stay bail granted to Sonam Raghuvanshi in the Raja Raghuvanshi murder case.During the hearing, the apex court noted that Sonam had already been released from jail and was currently in Shillong in compliance with the bail conditions imposed by the trial court.The Meghalaya government had moved the Supreme Court seeking cancellation of the bail granted to Sonam, who is accused of orchestrating the murder of her husband Raja Raghuvanshi at Sohra in May last year.Also read: Typo led to Sonam bail, Meghalaya saysSolicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Meghalaya government, filed the special leave petition (SLP) on Wednesday evening before a vacation bench of Justices MM Sundresh and Sheel Nagu and sought an urgent hearing, arguing that Sonam could abscond.Mehta contended that the trial court granted bail on the ground that the arresting authorities had allegedly failed to fully communicate the reasons for Sonam’s arrest. He argued that the issue was merely a “minor typographical error” in citing the relevant legal provision and was insufficient to justify bail.On Monday, the Meghalaya high court had dismissed the state government’s plea seeking cancellation of Sonam’s bail.The trial court had granted conditional bail to Sonam on April 27, citing procedural lapses after the police erroneously referred to Section 403(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) instead of Section 103(1), which deals with punishment for murder. The court held that the error violated her rights under Article 22 of the Constitution.The Meghalaya government has maintained that Sonam was informed of the grounds for her arrest and said it had submitted supporting documents before the High Court on May 4 while seeking revocation of her bail.According to the prosecution, Raja Raghuvanshi was murdered during his honeymoon after assailants from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh were allegedly hired at Sonam’s behest.
