Meghalaya HC dismisses state's plea against Sonam Raghuvanshi bail, govt left with Supreme Court option

The Meghalaya government suffered a legal setback after the Meghalaya High Court dismissed its appeal challenging the bail granted to Sonam Raghuvanshi, one of the prime accused in the alleged murder of her husband, Raja Raghuvanshi.

According to the counsel representing Sonam Raghuvanshi, the High Court rejected the state's petition after finding that the grounds presented by the government were insufficient to invoke its inherent jurisdiction under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

The lawyer said the hearing in the matter had concluded earlier, while the court delivered its final verdict on Monday.

Explaining the legal basis of the judgment, the counsel stated that the state had failed to establish adequate grounds for the High Court to exercise its inherent powers under Section 482 of the CrPC. The court found the arguments and material placed before it insufficient and consequently dismissed the government's plea.

With the dismissal of the appeal, the lawyer said the Meghalaya High Court has effectively exhausted the state's remedies before the same court.

"If the state government wishes to challenge this order further, its only legal remedy now is to approach the Supreme Court," the counsel said.

When asked whether the government would move the apex court, the lawyer said the decision rests entirely with the state.

"It is the prerogative of the government. If it chooses to challenge the order, it may approach the Supreme Court. We cannot comment on what course of action the government may take," he said.

The High Court's order upholds the earlier decision of a Shillong court granting bail to Sonam Raghuvanshi, which had held that the police failed to properly communicate the grounds of her arrest due to repeated errors in the arrest documents, resulting in prejudice to the accused. The detailed judgment of the High Court is awaited.