Honeymoon murder: Meghalaya HC upholds bail to prime accused Sonam Raghuvanshi

The Meghalaya High Court on Monday, June 29, 2026, upheld the court order granting bail to Sonam Raghuvanshi, the prime accused in the murder of her husband during their honeymoon in the northeastern state in 2025.

The single-judge Bench of Justice W. Diengdoh dismissed the criminal petition filed by the State government seeking cancellation of the bail granted by the trial court on April 27.

Judge Diengdoh stated that the way the grounds for arrest were prepared reflected “a complete failure to apply reasonable reason”.

“It is clear that such preparation was made without any thought… and no specific allegations or information could be found as to what the actual charges against him were,” the high court said. he said.

The statement said, “If the reasons for arrest are stated in this way, the same situation reflects that the authority making the arrest did not act prudently.”

The court denied the State’s petition, stating that there was no basis to exercise its inherent powers to revoke bail.

Sonam, a resident of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, was arrested in June last year in connection with the murder of her businessman husband Raja Raghuvanshi.

The couple went missing while vacationing in Meghalaya’s Sohra district on May 23. Later, Raja Raghuvanshi’s body was found in a deep valley on 2 June.

Police alleged that Sonam killed her husband for financial gain by conspiring with hired assailants.